(Photo by Reuters/Murad Sezer)
Dressed in homage to the Sufi whirling dervishes, a protester defies police during a protest on March 23 in Istanbul—the day Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was jailed for alleged corruption and terrorism. Imamoglu’s pro-democratic politics have positioned him as the leading challenger to authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“The act of protest, particularly when embodied through rituals such as the whirling of the dervish, exposes a deep tension between the autonomy of the individual and the forces of control exerted by the state,” explains anthropologist Beliz Yuksel, who notes that the “whirling protest” originated in the Gezi Park protests of 2013.
Last Look is a recurring photography feature on the final pages of SSIR’s print magazine, featuring images that inspire from around the world of social innovation. For more from SSIR’s Summer 2025 issue, go here.
Read more stories by Marcie Bianco.