Gâvur Izmir*

[luvdovz.livejournal.com]

"Come to us, Tayyip**, water is fresh here". That's how people in Izmir greet any newcomer to the improvised tent camp at the Mediterranean seafront in the Alsancak park in Izmir, Turkey's 3rd biggest city. And though the police eventually managed to disperse their counterparts in Istanbul and Ankara by using force, the protest camp in Izmir still remains intact. And there are several reasons for that.

Izmir is undoubtedly the face of secular Turkey. Even a brief walk around the seashore pedestrian alleys would help understand why this is so. Those streets are lined up with cafes, night clubs and restaurants where people can have a few drinks without fear of harassment from the "tradition police" that could be seen scouting the streets of other cities across the country; boys and girls can be spotted showing their affection in public around the parks without fear of repercussion. Head-clothes are a tiny minority among women, and the national flags hanging from the facades often have the image of the founder of the modern Turkish state, Kemal Atatürk displayed on them.

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