OK so the events have come literally to our doorstep.
First we started to hear the slogans around 13.00. Then at 13.30 we learned that nine of our friends among which are Gencay, Aykan and Inanc (all of whom I have already mentioned at this blog on various occasions) were taken into custody. They are now inside some police buses on an entirely different part of the city. They say there is something like 10 busloads of people like them and believe the police will let them go come nightfall. They haven’t taken away their cell phones and we can talk with them.
Then at 14.15 the sounds became deafening and as we went to look we saw people in groups running into our street; running away from the police by the looks of it, though we saw none. As we were looking out of the window two of our friends, Gozde and Nadir (both have been mentioned before on various occasions) passed underneath our window and waved to us as they did. (How weird is that?) We asked if they would like to come up but they were determined to go on. Then the smoke came and before I could even say, “beware pepper gas”, both Seda and me inhaled it. We closed the windows immediately as our nostrils began to burn. There is also a red spot on my hand that itches and all this from minimal exposure.
The crowd has passed our street now. But by the looks of it, people are all over the place in groups of 50 or so, scattering and remerging where they can. It is far from over.