How much do you believe when you watch or read the news?  How much I believe (or not) was the determining factor in my decision to go ahead and attend the conference I had been invited to speak at in Istanbul, Turkey this week.  According to the news stories, whether live video or written reports, Turkey was awash in lawlessness, rioting, and generally devolving to a very dangerous place to be.  I evaluated my experience with the media and then decided to come.

So here I am in Istanbul, Turkey staying in a hotel five blocks north of the currently infamous Taksim Square feeling perfectly safe.  Unfortunately for our hosts, who appeared rather embarrassed by the whole situation, some of the other main speakers did not travel -luckily for them recoverable via last minute adjustments to the schedule.   It turns out my decision to travel was the correct one.  Even though as I sit here in my hotel room I can hear the roar of an occasional chant, as I walked through the streets earlier, even approaching the north end of the square, I never felt unsafe or insecure.  Maybe I am just oblivious….

Admittedly the conference has kept me pretty busy and since it is located right across the street I have not had to go out and about much (another factor in my decision making process).  Last night, however, we were bussed to the river for an evening’s outing on the Bosphorus River and as we wended our way through the city I saw no signs of unrest but rather people crowding the streets shopping or sitting at the sidewalk cafes.  If not for the news and the echoes of a few chants the previous night I would have no idea anything of note was happening at all.

The banks of European Istanbul along the Bosphorus.

The Bosphorus boat tour was a nice treat after a long day of meetings.  The river, which joins the Black Sea eventually to the Aegean Sea splits Istanbul in half.  It was a weird feeling, as we were traveling east towards the Black Sea, to imagine that on my right was the continent of Asia and on my left the continent of Europe.  The terrain around Istanbul is very hilly and very green with the city blending in to make it seem much smaller than it really is.  At 15 million people it is the largest city in Turkey with 1/5^th of the population but as we quietly slipped between the river banks my impression was much different- more like a collection of small villages grouped together rather than a major metropolitan area.  Many old buildings dotted the banks of the rivers, from mosques to palaces, and even the more modern buildings harmonized with the centuries old architecture standing next door.  Picturesque describes the scene nicely.  As we turned around and headed back to the docks night had fallen and the city lights, some highlighting the ancient buildings in particular, created the feeling that I had been transported back in time.

Not Taksim square but another city park that had a cat habitat located in it. I have never seen so many feral cats gathered together in one place before.

At the end of the day today I finally had a chance to walk around the city.  Curious about what I would find I headed directly to Taksim square.  The hotel sits on a busy street and there was a steady stream of people and cars headed towards the square along with me.   The motivating factor stated for the protests was the government’s decision to re-develop Taksim Square, reducing the size of the green space and building some additional structures.  As I approached the square I noticed that some construction had already started.  It was unclear where they were in the process but in any event the presence of heavy equipment appeared to be causing a traffic bottleneck.  The additional presence of the protesters only made the situation worse.  I amused myself watching the “bumper car” driving style required to navigate anywhere in the vicinity.  I could not detect a pattern to the chaos and surmised that the outcomes where based on the courage of each individual driver.

Barricaded side street right next to Taksim Square. Manned by protesters sporting hard hats and gas masks.

At the square I found a sea of tents and crowds of what looked like mainly young people milling about.  My first immediate impression was that, for those of you from the US will identify with, reminded me of the “Occupy” movement that swept through the country a few years ago.  But on steroids.  And with accessories.  I say this because unlike the “Occupy” movement, I saw graffiti- on the surrounding buildings, the sidewalks, the street and a few vans parked nearby-and flags and lots of large signs posted as well as some side streets around the square barricaded and manned by protesters.  While the “Occupy” groups had signs I don’t recall anyone actually barricading streets (maybe I was just not exposed to it).  Also unlike the “Occupy” movement many people were sporting hard hats, safety goggles, and gas masks.  Some had the white paper filter masks as well although I am not sure how much use they could be in a tear gas attack.   In two separate locations just a block away from the square I spotted several busses of police officers who appeared to be simply hanging out waiting for orders.  They looked fairly relaxed.  Savy street vendors nearby where doing a brisk business selling the accessories- hard hats, goggles, and filter masks.  The crowd itself, again my impression was mainly of young people, were sitting on the walls, the curbs, around the tents, or walking from place to place.  At one level it had the feeling of a big party.  On another level I would occasionally hear some chanting from the unseen recesses of the tents planted on the square.  I observed for a while and continued with my walk surmising that post-sundown the activity level may pick up and it would prudent to be elsewhere just in case.

Protesters camped out in the Square.

As soon as I was two blocks off the square there was no indication of anything going on out of the ordinary.  I was back in the thick of the crowds of people hurrying home from work, shopping, strolling, enjoying many of the sidewalk cafes- basically a repeat of my observations from the previous night.   I regret that I did not have more free time to view the city because Istanbul has many interesting areas to explore, especially the old city, which I did not have enough time to visit.  It is definitely on my list of places to return to as a tourist!

Police hanging out near the Square-waiting for orders? for something to get out of hand? Not sure.

I will close by sharing some of the conversations that I had with people who live here.  Besides being embarrassed that they are being portrayed internationally as a country that has erupted into unruly and lawless behavior (not true), there seems to be strong sympathy for the protesters.  In addition I have had several people express disgust at how the police are treating the protesters.   This sentiment seems to be rooted in frustration about the government.  The behavior of the police is perceived to be a result of arrogance and stubbornness on behalf of the Prime Minister to be willing to work on behalf of the whole population, not just the half that keeps him in power.  Interestingly the media seems to have gotten this one correct.  As a disclaimer, however, I must state that I only interfaced with a few individuals, mainly educated (although the hotel desk clerk confessed to me that they take supplies to the protesters every morning).  As a counterpoint one has to wonder what kind response a police force in any American city would respond with if city streets, even side streets, were being blocked for a long period of time by random groups of protesters…..One thing is clear – no one knows where this is going and what the outcome will be.  Having been here and seen it I will probably pay more attention to the news (even if I cannot believe everything that I read).   But in the end I am happy I came and met a lot of very nice people!

Update: Morning/June 14: As I am checking out of the hotel the friendly desk clerk told me that the government has decreed that the protests should end tonight (they are allowed to last 45 days).  I have a hunch it may not be pretty……

People will find ways to make a quick buck. Here a street vendor is selling paper masks. Others had safety goggles and hard hats.