Over 450,000 people joined the solidarity action with Palestine, which took place in Istanbul on January 1, the television channel Habertürk reported, citing information from its organizers. Turkish authorities have not yet announced information about the number of participants in the event.
The action was held under the motto “Yesterday Hagia Sophia, today Umayyad [mosque in Damascus], tomorrow Al-Aqsa [mosque in Jerusalem].“ The venue was the Galata Bridge on the Golden Horn. 10,000 people came to it after the morning prayer from the world-famous mosques of Hagia Sophia, Sultanahmet (Blue Mosque), Suleymaniye and the New Mosque. A total of about 400 public organizations participated in it.
Enhanced security measures were taken in the area of the event. By decision of the Istanbul authorities, changes were made to the movement of public transport and ferry services in the Bosphorus from early morning. Thousands of police officers provided security for the event.