© Vassil Donev/EPAErdem Gunduz stands in Taksim Square during a 'duranadam', or standing man protest, in Istanbul.
A Turkish man has staged an eight-hour silent vigil in Istanbul's Taksim Square, the scene of violent clashes between police and anti-government protesters in recent weeks, inspiring hundreds of others to follow his lead.
Erdem Gunduz said he wanted to take a stand against police stopping demonstrations near the square, the Dogan news agency reported.
He stood silently, facing the Ataturk Cultural Centre which was draped in Turkish flags and a portrait of Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, from 6pm on Monday.
By 2am on Tuesday, when the police moved in, about 300 people had joined him. Ten people, who refused to be moved on by police, were detained.
Gunduz, swiftly dubbed "standing man" on social media in Turkey, inspired similar protests elsewhere in Istanbul, as well as in the capital, Ankara, and the city of Izmir on the Aegean coast.
The silent protests were in stark contrast to demonstrations at the weekend, which saw some of the fiercest clashes so far when police fired teargas and water cannons to clear thousands from Taksim Square.
What began in May as a protest by environmentalists upset over plans to build on a park adjoining Taksim Square has grown into a movement against the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoฤan, presenting the greatest public challenge to his 10-year leadership.
Now, all that's needed is subtle choreography, which can utilize the gravity of the situation to speak silently of the nation's, nay the worlds', instability... and not hurt the tourist industry to boot, as it can serve as advertising, which will only upset Mr E even more. Isn't that loverly?
It doesn't have to be an old Berkley musical extravaganza, but rather like statues that move in coordinated patterns across the city with definite clues, sounds etc that can act in that butterfly affect.
This way, you don't give them excuses for bad behavior. Posers or infiltrators will be of no use. How does that song go:
"When an irresistible force such as you
meets an old immovable object like me
You can bet as sure as you live
Something's gotta give, something's gotta give
Something's gotta give."