Talking Turkey: 8 simple points to help you understand the situation Demonstrators continue clashing with police over plans to raze a park in Turkey. Riot police use water cannons and tear gas to disperse protesters as simmering anger at government boils over in Turkey. The Turkish PM, who is visiting Morocco, predicts protests against his rule will soon be over. Young Turks clash with security forces in Ankara, Turkey. Unrest continues in Turkey A demonstrator tells us his intentions are peaceful 8 point wrap of what's happening over there HERE are eight brief points to help you understand the Turkey situation. Turkey A country about one tenth the size of Australia which straddles both Europe and Asia, Turkey is so named not for birds, but because the word "Turk" in ancient Turkish means "strong." Turkey borders eight countries including Syria and Iraq to the south, and Greece to the west. Most Turks, especially the younger generation, tend to hold European-style cultural values. How the trouble started The protests and riots, which have since spread across Turkey, all started over a park near Istanbul's famous Taksim Square. The government wanted to build a shopping mall on the site of the park. A protest ensued. We contacted someone who helped organise the protest. He said it was peaceful, with most people reading books while they conducted a sit-in. Then the bulldozers and the police arrived... "The park is the only area left in the downtown area," the protestor told news.com.au, speaking on the condition of anonymity. It is the Central Park of Turkey. It is the most important park not just in Istanbul but in the whole of Turkey. It is a place where you can run into people of all types - rich, poor, middle class. But the government wants to create a place just for shoppers. Why the protests are about more than just a park... As our protestor explains, the government's action in destroying a cherished public place is symbolic of the attitude of Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan: "Taksim Square and the nearby parks are the most important symbols of the public, but the government has been working to destroy the public and create a religious Sharia-based society." That view may be on the extreme side, but it reflects the widely-held view that Prime Minister Erdogan's Justice and Development Party is pursuing what many perceive to be an increasingly Islamist, anti-democratic agenda. Are these protests related to the recent Turkish protests over kissing and alcohol? Sort of, yes. Prime Minister Erdogan has tried to restrict the sale of alcohol in his country, and issued an inflammatory statement on national TV this week, saying: "Whoever drinks alcohol is an alcoholic." That's exactly the sort of statement which makes people fear the government is slowly trying to turn Turkey into a hardline Islamist state. The outbreak of violence at the so-called "kissing protest" a week ago was a similar case. Scuffles occurred when extremists attacked kissing couples who were locking lips in a Turkish metro station to protest a morality campaign by the authorities in the Turkish capital Ankara. Bottom line: Turkish people want the freedom to drink booze and snog in public, just like most people in the West do. What next? It is summer now in Turkey, and there is a growing feeling that the current wave of protests could last the whole summer. Continuing allegations of police brutality have only fuelled public anger, to the point where the original anti-government and anti-development protestors are now being joined by working people angered by the aggressive police response. This Turkish government already has a questionable record on journalistic and artistic freedoms, and many now feel it is now unfairly restricting people's rights of assembly and protest in a manner not in line with the constitution. Some activists say a general strike may be the only way to force the government to stop the violence, which has now become extremely serious with at least two people killed. An anti-government protester waves Turkey's national flag bearing a portrait of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, during a demonstration in Ankara. I've booked a holiday, should I still go to Turkey? Interestingly, it was announced just this week that Turkish Airlines would soon introduce nonstop flights to Sydney. The 15,000 km route would be the world's longest. But should you hop any plane to Istanbul tomorrow? For now, the advice appears to be a very cautious 'maybe'. If you do go, make sure you avoid likely hot spots. The Australian government's travel advisory website, smarttraveller.gov.au, says: "Demonstrations are taking place in Istanbul (Taksim Square, Taksim Gezi Park and other areas), Ankara and in other cities across Turkey. Police are using tear gas and water cannons in response. We advise Australians to avoid all demonstrations. Is this Turkey's Arab spring? Turkey's Occupy movement? What exactly is this thing? No, it's different to the Arab Spring. Most of those countries had dictators in place and a populace which was poor. Give Prime Minister Erdogan his due. In his 10 year stint as Turkey's leader, he has presided over unprecedented economic growth. Turkey today has unemployment under 10 per cent, which is a lot better than much of Europe. That said, the Turkish people have spoken and their message is clear: they want economic prosperity AND democratic freedoms. These protests are all about ensuring the former without sacrificing the latter. A wounded man is taken away during clashes with Turkish police in Istanbul as anger grows over what has been seen as a heavy-handed response by the police and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government's increasingly authoritarian agenda. Social media lies The Turkish PM did himself no favours when he said "There is this curse called Twitter. It's all lies ... That thing called social media is the curse of society today. That sounded like a man who didn't want the world to know about beatings, excessive tear gas and pepper spray. Turkish TV has presented very limited coverage of the protests, and while it's true that some fake images have circulated on social media, in balance it seems a lot more accurate than the TV coverage.