Editor’s note: Since Friday, Turkey has been roiled by anti-government protests. For the latest, go to our updated explainer here.
The view through the windshield of a wrecked bus in Taksim Square, Istanbul, on Saturday. There was generally a celebratory feeling during the day, with protesters walking around, singing, dancing, and eating watermelon. Though this bus was torn up and covered in spray paint, when the occasional protester would try to cause further damage, those around him would yell, “Yapma, yapma!” (“Don’t do it, don’t do it!”)
Protesters hang out of a building on Istiklal Street, near Taksim Square, cheering. The graffiti “Katil polisler” means “Killer police”; “O.Ç. Tay[y]ip” stands for “Orospu çocu?u Tayyip,” or “Son of a bitch Tayyip,” referring to Turkey’s prime minister.
A young man wearing a gas mask in Taksim Square on Saturday afternoon. By the weekend, vendors were selling surgical masks and gas masks on the streets and near the front lines of the protests.
A flipped car in Taksim Square on Saturday afternoon.
Protesters cheer near the front lines on Sunday night near Be?ikta?. Tear gas hangs thick in the air; the man with the umbrella is using it to shield himself from gas canisters. When riot police were forced back, people yelled “Gel, gel” (“Come, come”) to those behind them so the crowd would advance.
Sunday night: Protesters near the barricades, built in the middle of a normally busy thoroughfare. This was one of many; another barricade, further along, consisted of an excavator hijacked by protesters and a couple of trucks. The excavator had forced police back, but shortly after this photo was taken, the police redoubled their efforts and forced the crowd to retreat at a sprint, as police reportedly struck protesters down with batons.
Protesters in Taksim Square Monday night.
A man holds a flare in Gezi Park. As a helicopter circled overhead, members of the crowd booed, aimed green laser pointers at it, and shot flares into the sky.
A woman lies on a blanket in Gezi Park, suffering from the effects of tear gas. Tear gas was periodically dropped from the helicopter Monday night and early Tuesday morning.
Protesters suffering from the effects of tear gas in Gümü?suyu. One protester stood in the midst of the crowd with a water bottle of homemade solution (antacid and water) for flushing out the eyes of those suffering from the effects of tear gas, as well as an inhaler for asthmatics.
