“I saw there were young people protesting peacefully here, but the police used violence against them. That affected me. I am here to support them," said Mercan.
Professor Koray Caliskan at Bogazici University says for the first time in Turkish history the protests brought together political activists with often conflicting views.
“People tried to protect their park and their democracy and they came together for the first time, people with terribly different agendas, a pro-Kurdish party, an anti-Kurdish party and a Republican People's [nationalist] party, hand-in-hand in Gezi," said Caliskan.
At Galata Tower, a few kilometers away, another protest Wednesday. People set out shoes to remember those killed or wounded in the clashes. Ruya Kurtulus helped organize the first protests.
“It started with the park. On the first day 4,000 people came. And after the police attacked many more thousands came. It just made many more people join us. And now it is a movement for freedom and democracy," said Kurtulus.
Back at Taksim Square, the standing man protests continue. The demonstrators say they will not stop until the government becomes less authoritarian and listens more to its people.