Today In Taksim Square

I planned on staying away from Taksim Square.  I did.  But I'd heard good things about the Military Museum, and it turns out that you have to pass through Taksim Square to get there.  I therefore had no choice.

Things seemed relatively calm to me.  There are a ton of tents set up, a sea of signs and posters that I could not read, makeshift vendors selling water and food, a handful of people peddling gas masks and goggles, and a ton of people just milling about.  There did not appear to be any real tension in the crowd, and the protesters all seemed to be in good spirits.  Your eyes do tingle once in a while, which I think is caused by some residual tear gas or pepper spray in the air.

Here are some images from the scene.

There is a police presence, to be sure.  But I saw no interactions between the police and the protesters.  Let's hope it stays that way.