Taksim Square is situated metres away from the Bosphorus and the elegant palaces that testify to the splendours of Ottoman architecture as well as to the last throes of the “Sick Man of Europe” in the early 20th century. It is also an easy walk from that square to the famous and recently re-inaugurated Inönü Stadium, home ground to the Beşiktaş team. Presiding over the square on one side is the iconic Atatürk Cultural Centre, often simply referred to by its Turkish initials AKM. The building has been out of use since 2008, ostensibly on the grounds that it needs structural refurbishment, although there had actually been reports of plans to demolish it. Across the way stands the Republican Monument, built to commemorate the creation of the modern Turkish state. Unveiled in 1928, five years after the founding of the new republic, the monument stands as a symbol of modernism and progress. At the heart of this monument is the symbol of Kemalist ideology, which takes its name from the Republic's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who is depicted in a bronze statue. Alongside him are representatives of other segments of society in its new, secularist appearance, turning its back on the corrupt theocratic order of the Ottoman caliphate. Now, women stand side-by-side with men, and workers, farmers, intellectuals and soldiers are peers dedicated to building the modern state. All these potent symbols of modernism also inspired the well of fury — that continues to simmer — against the government of the Justice and Development Party (JDP) that has launched a relentless drive to alter the identity of the state and strip it of the values it had espoused for decades. Taksim Square is the most famous square not just in Istanbul but also in the whole of Turkey. Below it was dug the second oldest metro in the world after the London underground. As the years passed, it became a hub of an urban metro network. It is little wonder that it came to embody the cosmopolitan character of the city that had once served as the capital of the Islamic caliphate and that today is the economic minaret of Anatolia. As one wanders off through meandering streets and alleys one comes across historic churches, many inspired by renaissance, baroque or other artistic styles. There are synagogues and mosques, many centuries old, and one may also come across Alevi cemevis, or congregational houses. Such are the edifices that tell of an amazing blend of religious and ethnic communities living in apparent harmony in a vibrant and dynamic cultural melting pot. Just as every country has its capital as its driving engine, the same can be said of central squares. In the case of Taksim, it is Istiklal Caddesi (the “c” in the modern Turkish alphabet is pronounced like the English “j”) in form and substance. Istiklal means “independence” and through this grand boulevard that leads into Taksim pass thousands of people of all nationalities and ethnicities at virtually every hour of the day, in one great ebb and flow of humanity. Branching off of Istiklal are innumerable side streets and winding alleyways, where one finds a proliferation of coffeehouses, pubs and restaurants. It is a hive of activity that hums with excitement. It is a world that, to put it briefly, cannot survive without tourism and foreign visitors. It is no coincidence that at the other end of this famous avenue stands another historic landmark, the Galata Tower, built by the Genoese in the 14th century. Taksim Square, which administratively lies in Istanbul's Beyoglu quarter, acquired its name for having served as centre for water distribution. “Taksim” means “division” or “distribution”. In the early 19th century, Sultan Selim III (1761-1808) built a fort near this square as part of what was then a military barracks. The structure incorporated Indian and Russian elements. About a century later, this was the area that sparked the events that would ultimately lead to the overthrow of Sultan Abdel-Hamid II (1876-1908) and the brief rise to power of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) movement (founded 1889 and dissolved 1918). In 1940, two years after the death of Atatürk and under the government of Esmet Inönü, head of the Republican People's Party, the barracks was dismantled and the grounds were turned in Gezi Park, serving as a green lung for inhabitants of the quarters on Istanbul's European side. Taksim Square has also become a gathering point for dozens of national holidays, from New Year's Eve to the National Republic Day on 29 October. It is also a rallying point for civil society organisations and the public to proclaim their stances on political and social issues. Given this central importance, Istanbul's gay pride marches have assembled in this square before heading down Istiklal Cd. On the other hand, 46 years ago, the same square was the scene of a horrific tragedy. On 16 February 1969, thousands of leftist protesters were marching towards Taksim when they were set upon by rightwing groups. At least two people died and around 150 were wounded in what became known as the “Bloody Sunday” events. These events, in turn, paved the way to the 1970 military coup, the second in the republic's history. Seven years later followed the “Second Bloody Sunday” or the “Taksim Square Massacre”, as it is also called. This occurred during Labour Day celebrations, when unknown gunmen, presumably rightwing and ultranationalist extremists, opened fire on the crowds. An estimated 36 people died and hundreds were wounded. With the onset of the third millennium, death had some other major appointments at Taksim. On the eve of the semi final match between Leeds United and Galatasaray in the UEFA semi-finals of 1999-2000, two supporters of the British team were stabbed to death in Taksim Square. On 31 October, a suicide bomber blew himself up next to a police bus, killing 15 policemen and 17 civilians. The attacker was said to be a Kurd from the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), an offshoot of the PKK. Other violent incidents would follow until all forms of assembly and protest in the square were banned and the area heavily patrolled by the police around the clock. Nevertheless, such measures did not extend to the side streets and nearby neighbourhoods, which then became rallying points for demonstrations and protest marches that would aim towards Taksim. In 2011, the JDP government began to implement plans to reorganise and redesign the square. The stated purpose was to ease congestion in that vital traffic hub overseen by 14 major hotels and restaurants. Once implemented, the bulk of traffic would pass through tunnels below the square while the area above ground would become a pedestrian zone. The municipality had its way, of course. The Taksim traffic jams were solved, but the square also lost something of its original vibrancy. The congestion, meanwhile, shifted to other parts of the metropolis with its 15 million inhabitants, making life hell for pedestrians who nowadays have not only to contend with the maze of traffic, but mounting armies of panhandlers, including among their number escapees from refugee camps in southern Anatolia. The major turning point in the history of Taksim Square took the government of then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan by surprise. On 26 May 2013, a sit-in was staged in the square to protest cutting down trees in Gezi Park to make way for the reconstruction of the 19th century barracks and to make it into a shopping mall. The plan was seen as an act of vengeance by the Erdogan government against the early Atatürk republic for having dismantled the edifice built by Sultan Selim III. But popular anger did not appear overnight. It had been welling up for months and years against Erdogan's drive to erase Turkey's modern identity and resurrect the Ottoman imperial entity with him at the centre. Thus, no sooner did police move in to brutally crush the sit-in than the long accumulated anger erupted into the biggest challenge that Erdogan had faced up to then in his career. What began as an environmental protection campaign escalated to a full-fledged protest movement demanding change, starting with the dismissal of the JDP government and new general elections. Naturally, the riot police were summoned and with the backing of thousands of soldiers bristling with weapons they eventually managed to dispel the sit-in, leaving at least seven dead and hundreds injured. Taksim was closed off as an assembly point and the wave of freedom protests it had sparked throughout the country was subdued. But in every year since people have commemorated the Gezi Park tragedy while the anger that fuelled the demonstrations still boils. In May, Labour Day celebrations brought Taksim Square to the fore again. Although 10,000 riot police had been deployed around the square and metro lines had been cut off to prevent people from reaching it, dozens of pro-labour and other leftwing political activists succeeded in making a sudden breakthrough into the square. Naturally, the police pounced on them with water cannons, cudgels and other weapons, claiming around 90 wounded and more than 145 arrests. The government, for its part, justified its ban on demonstrations and the right to public assembly in Taksim on the grounds that it would paralyse the life of the square as a major economic and tourist centre. There would be other, safer and more appropriate places for rallies, government officials said. People had another opinion. Selahattin Demirtaş, co-chairperson of the People's Democratic Party, likened Taksim Square to a holy site. Like the Kaaba draws Muslim pilgrims from around the world, and Jerusalem is destined by Muslims, Christians and Jews, so too is Taksim Square an integral part of the 1 May Labour Day rites and rituals.
