A few days before the riots in Turkey. . .

TURKEY: Only two weeks ago, Alan photographed a colorful, happy night scene on Istanbul’s famous pedestrian avenue, İstiklal Cadessi. The avenue, which runs from the medieval Genoese neighborhood around Galata Tower and leads to Taksim Square, was the site of violent clashes this weekend between protesters and police, the fiercest anti-government demonstrations in years. Reports say that “windows had been smashed, scaffolding torn down, and the old stone walls of the grand buildings had been plastered with spray-painted graffiti – anti-government slogans, mostly.”