There was a transformation in Turkey after the Gezi Park Protests. On March 1st, we went to where it happened. We arrived in Taksim Square early in the day and saw what we thought was a protest. The group went near it and took pictures and posed and took notes, only to find out it was a funeral or something like it. It still looked the part, so it wasn’t a total loss. Then we met with a real protester from Gezi who happened to be a city planner. She explained the intricacies of Gezi, the transformation of Taksim in what seemed like overnight, and the gentrification and building projects of the federal and local governments in the surrounding area. I was told how big a part the LGBT community played in the protests, and although it was not in her area of expertise, there seemed to be a melting pot of acceptance via the younger generation and the protesters to the LGBT cause as a result of Gezi. In Gezi, I also happened to try salep for the first time. That orchid root does its job and more; it was heavenly. Anyway, I then went to visit the rainbow stairs not very far from Taksim, which were painted over continuously by the municipal government in an attempt to not allow such LGBT symbolism; they were soon painted back so many times that the government itself painted the stairs. There was a lot of information discovered, especially in the persistence of the Turkish spirit.