Photo Gallery A Divided Turkey
Anti-government protesters in Istanbul and other large Turkish cities have commanded the spotlight in recent weeks. But the other half of the Turkish population are made up of those who support Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Here, workers hanging massive portraits of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, current President Abdulla Gül and Erdogan.
In addition to anti-government protests, there have been several well-attended pro-Erdogan marches in recent weeks. Here, supporters gather at a rally for the prime minister in Sincan earlier this month.
Despite the brutal police crackdown, prostests in Istanbul and elsewhere have continued. Here, anti-government protesters in central Istanbul.
People standing during a silent protest on Taksim Square last week. The deep split in Turkish society had been covered up by the country's rapid economic development in recent years.
Erdogan supporters holding AKP flags during the rally in Sincan. They refer to themselves as the "silent majority."
Meanwhile, anti-Erdogan protesters say that the prime minister has crossed the line from being a democratically elected leader to acting like an autocrat.
Erdogan has done much to firmly establish democracy in Turkey. Most of his successes came in his first term, however. Now, he accuses protesters of being "traitors" who are being controlled from overseas.
Anti-Erdogan activists have taken to waving flags bearing the likeness of modern Turkey's founder Atatürk.
A clash between protesters and riot police on Taksim Square earlier this month. While Turkey's real per capita income has increased by a factor of one-and-a-half in the last decade, Turkey has become both more cosmopolitan and more religious, more progressive and more conservative, more urban and more provincial.
Erdogan's achievements cannot be denied. While Atatürk modernized the country, Erdogan developed it into a respected regional power. While Atatürk secularized Turkey, Erdogan democratized it. Here, Erdogan supporters in Ankara.
Anti-Erdogan demonstrators have come from all walks of life. What started as a protest against plans to develop an Istanbul park quickly swelled into a nation-wide, anti-Erdogan movement.
There have been pro-Erdogan rallies stages across the country in recent days in an effort to counter the demonstrators' claims that the prime minister's time at the top has come to an end.
The prime minister is no longer the gifted politician who turned Turkey upside down 10 years ago. He is no longer the tactically clever Machiavellian he was when he was released from political imprisonment in 1999, who would first size up his opponents and then confidently put them in their place.
A man emulating the silent vigil of Erdem Gündüz in Taksim Square. The new form of protest quickly went viral last week.
Thousands have now taken up the new for of protest. Police have been unsure how to cope with the new wave of demostrations.
