a little bit of a Turk

nevver: The woman in red

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 17:42:50 -0400

The woman in red

vicemag: Occupiers Faced Down Cops in Istanbul’s Taksim...

Fri, 31 May 2013 17:14:27 -0400

Occupiers Faced Down Cops in Istanbul’s Taksim Square

On the night of May 27, bulldozers and backhoes rolled into Gezi Park, a tiny island of trees and grass at the center of Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, and started ripping it apart. This was part of a government project to “pedestrianize” the historic square—what that meant in this case, according to many blogs, was turning one of the last open green spaces in the city into a shopping mall. No community organizations or local people were asked what they thought about the plans for the park devised by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which included rebuilding a historical barracks that was demolished in the 1940s and adding sidewalks to make the square more friendly to pedestrians.

Four days later, after nonviolent protesters occupied the park and survived attacks by the police that included tear gas and water cannons, they’ve won at least a temporary victory thanks to a court decision. In fact, Instanbul’s mayor, Kadir Topbaş, just announced that there was never any plan to build a mall. It’s an amazing eleventh-hour turnaround, but it didn’t happen without a battle.

Protesters began gathering in the park as early as Monday, May 27, and word spread through social media as more pro-park, anti-government Turks showed up to sit in front of the bulldozers. By Wednesday, the police were involved, and they responded to the nonviolent protests with aggressive tactics—what really got everyone’s attention was a photo from Reuters showing a young, apparently peaceful environmentalist in a red dress getting pepper-sprayed by a gas-masked cop. That image became a symbol of the “occupation” of Gezi Park, as well as the cops’ terrorization of the protesters.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the AKP wasn’t interested in starting a dialogue with the occupation and gave a speech on Wednesday that made it clear that a decision on the park’s fate had already been made. By then, many protesters had set up camp at the park and were sleeping in their tents. At dawn on Thursday, May 30, the police entered the park, firing tear gas and burning tents. The bulldozers were stopped, however, when opposition politicians Sırrı Sureyya Önder and Gülseren Onanç stood in front of them and demanded to see proper permits.

Even with the police using pepper spray as if it were bug repellent, the occupation continued, and even grew. On Thursday, photos of protesters reading to the police spread around the internet, and those who are involved in the occupation say they are committed to nonviolence.

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"And as you talk, politely, adult-like, over coffee you can’t help but notice the gray in her hair,..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:22:40 -0400

“And as you talk, politely, adult-like, over coffee you can’t help but notice the gray in her...

All instruments by Max Frost

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:08:23 -0400

All instruments by Max Frost

Too bad she’s my sister

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:39:00 -0400

Too bad she’s my sister

interesting thought

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:38:48 -0400

interesting thought

It’s Gonna Take An Airplane by Destroyer

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 10:20:55 -0500

It’s Gonna Take An Airplane by Destroyer

littleillys: gummies&birds / little illy’s...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 20:06:06 -0500

littleillys:

gummies&birds / little illy’s archives: http://littleillys.tumblr.com/archive

my nail art journey: u dont need a man. u need a manicure.

Can Agaoglu’s blog: http://wemoveandwelive.com/

It’ll be sad to see little illy go. It’s the end of an era.

“Undocumented Hours,” Rebecca Parker Payne, Kinfolk Magazine, Volume IV

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 11:58:00 -0500

The past few years have levied a strange burden of proof upon our backs, a burden to account for our...

Working on a logo for Indigestible, a new documentary film about...

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 11:50:00 -0500

Working on a logo for Indigestible, a new documentary film about factory farming and its effects on public health.

After a long haul of cloudy days @basakagaoglu got to do some...

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 11:23:45 -0500

After a long haul of cloudy days @basakagaoglu got to do some sunbathing in my room this morning.

"I think that once you get over the age of 20, you begin to understand that there’s a lot of places..."

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 11:53:46 -0400

“I think that once you get over the age of 20, you begin to understand that there’s a lot of...

My best friend who also happens to be my sister was born...

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:12:41 -0400

My best friend who also happens to be my sister was born today.

Follow her on instagram - @basakagaoglu

I spray painted my helmet to gold and wrote things on it.

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:42:26 -0400

I spray painted my helmet to gold and wrote things on it.

"When we’re incomplete, we’re always searching for somebody to complete us. When, after a few years..."

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:56:31 -0400

“When we’re incomplete, we’re always searching for somebody to complete us. When, after a few...

Mom’s in town.

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:42:36 -0400

Mom’s in town.

nunulanka: We move and we live , Brooklyn’de yasayan arkadasim...

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 11:07:57 -0400

nunulanka:

We move and we live , Brooklyn’de yasayan arkadasim Can’in 3D kamerasiyla bu yaz boyunca cektigi fotograflari koydugu sahane bir blog!

ama ben utanirim!

I’ll be a little late to work this morning. @lindsaymeck...

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:54:13 -0400

I’ll be a little late to work this morning. @lindsaymeck @joemgomez #rain #fail #nyc #bicycles #bicycling (Taken with Instagram at Hudson River Park)

For my birthday I got my favorite cookies from my favorite...

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 10:03:08 -0400

For my birthday I got my favorite cookies from my favorite person, my sister.

She thinks I look like a giraffe.

Photo

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 14:39:00 -0400