Inside Gezi Park.

The other day before we ventured off to be tourists we decided to enter Gezi Park which is the center of the demonstrations in Taksim Square... the one thing Istanbul lacks in green space and one of the major issues with the protesters is the demolition of Gezi Park along with being able to kiss in public, drink alcohol after 10:00pm and dress how you wish... many people refuse to leave until their demands are met or Recep Tayypid Erdogan (the Prime Minister of Turkey) steps down. Here are some photos from the middle of the
(not so scary) action:

 Above is a flipped over burnt out police car... feels a little like home... remember the G20?

The media are everywhere in Gezi... I was doing a lot of photo bombing with my Toronto Blue Jays hat on and wonder if anyone noticed me on the news? They always choose the most dramatic background... like this burnt out construction trailer... oh the FEAR!

This guy above strolled of this burnt out police van holding a live dove and yelling something in Turkish... I thought he was going to pull an Ozzie and bite the birds head off... but no such luck.

The wonderful guy we're renting the apartment from told us last night he was starting to get cancellations from people in the US... and coming from a large white guy in the middle of the action... you shouldn't be afraid to visit Istanbul... we've had a really safe and amazing time here... the protests are only in Taksim Square and if anything Gezi has made our trip more exciting and memorable... so come to Istanbul be a tourist in the old part of the city and walk around Gezi Park and be apart of history...
there's no better time to visit Turkey!