Editing Taksim Square (section)

==History==
[[File:Taksim square 1880.jpg|thumb|Taksim in the 1880s|left]]
The word Taksim means "division" or "distribution" in Arabic. Taksim Square was originally the point where the main water lines from the north of Istanbul were collected and branched off to other parts of the city (hence the name.) This use for the area was established by Sultan [[Mahmud I]]. The square takes its name from the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] era stone [[reservoir]] which is located along one side of the square.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

Another significant building that once stood on the square was the 19th century [[Taksim Military Barracks|Taksim Artillery Barracks]] (''Taksim Kışlası'', which later became the [[Taksim Stadium]]), but which was demolished in 1940 during the construction works in accordance with the plans of [[France|French]] architect and [[city planner]] [[Henri Prost]] for Taksim Square and [[Taksim Gezi Park]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wowturkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=668|title=Yok olan İstanbul Taksim Meydanı - Topçu Kışlası yeniden inşa ediliyor!|website=wowturkey.com}}</ref> 

Taksim Gezi Park is a small green park in the midst of the concrete expanse of central Istanbul. In 2013, the city municipality, wanting to rebuild the old barracks as a shopping venue on the site of the park, began forcefully removing protesters who had set up camp in the park. After news spread of the [[police brutality]], thousands of people rallied in the [[2013 Taksim Gezi Park protests in Turkey|Occupy Taksim]] movement, to stop the demolition of the park. As of 2013, the status of the demolition project was in limbo, the [[Justice and Development Party (Turkey)|Justice and Development Party]] (AKP) government has the [[General Directorate of Security (Turkey)|Police]] stationed in and around Taksim Square ready with [[riot control]] equipment to deter any large demonstrations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/news-316733-protestors-stand-guard-at-istanbuls-gezi-park-to-prevent-demolition.html |newspaper=[[Today's Zaman]] |title=Police disperse protesters with pepper spray to continue partial demolition of Gezi Park |date=2013-05-28 |access-date=2013-06-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623220919/http://www.todayszaman.com/news-316733-protestors-stand-guard-at-istanbuls-gezi-park-to-prevent-demolition.html |archive-date=2013-06-23 }}</ref>{{update after|2022|11|13}}<!-- so what happened after 2013 on the grass park & demolition project? -->