A human tide, a wave of colorful signs and banners written with slogans displaying rage and humor: On Friday, March 21, Turkey witnessed a day of exceptional demonstrations, on an even greater scale than those held on the previous two days, since the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the main rival and genuine political bugbear of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Nearly 300,000 people turned out to protest in the megalopolis on the Bosphorus, according to Imamoglu's Republican People's Party (CHP), gathering in front of the City Hall, in the district of Saraçhane. In total, according to the latest figures from last night, rallies and demonstrations were held in 45 of the country's 81 provinces. This was an unprecedented wave of anger, one that, in its own way, echoed the great 2013 Gezi Park protest movements, notably held in Istanbul. They were so akin to those past demonstrations, in fact, that it begs the question: How did Turkey even get here in the first place?

Since the creation of the Republic of Turkey, in 1923, the country has, admittedly, never really been a highly-accomplished or even a full democracy, but the events of the last few days have undeniably represented a turning point in the regime's autocratic and authoritarian drift. Indeed, the arrest of a political leader –from Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, in 1960, to pro-Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtas, in 2016, as well as Bülent Ecevit, in 1980 – is unfortunately nothing new. However, while Turkey's contemporary history is littered with breaches of the rule of law, Imamoglu's arrest, on Wednesday, March 19, is becoming a particular case.

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