The celebrating 50%Taksim Square has been crowded for almost a week since late on July 20th, when one of the ‘hosts’ appeared on the stage to announce that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had decreed ninety days of a state of emergency throughout the country. There was a roar and applause and the celebrations continued. There were many veiled women present, some men with long beards, a lot of young people and families from the suburbs who, carrying their flags, had come to the city’s beating heart to celebrate the “triumph of democracy”.