Last night I turned on the news to see images of the Bosporus Bridge. I was confused as to why are they showing the bridge. Then I realized that one side of the bridge was open to traffic and the other was not - the road was blocked by tanks. But still this surreal image did not make sense.It was a bit like the earthquake of August 1999. Awaking to the floor heaving and pitching, I thought hey this must be an earthquake. Having grown up in the U.K. and the Midwest of America, hurricanes and tornadoes were more the natural disasters we were accustomed to. An earthquake is not something we were familiar with. But when I felt the terrible shudders on that August night, no one needed to tell me what it was. I knew.Last night, when we saw the images of the tanks on the bridge, although confused at first, it didn't take long to understand. Never having experienced a coup, having grown up in countries where coups do not happen, it was still very clear that there is only one reason for tanks to take over half a bridge.As we watched events unfold, the surrealism of what we were experiencing hit me. Watching Tijen Karaş read the memorandum of the failed coup was one of the odder moments of the night. It was obvious the poor woman was struggling, that she was not carrying out this task willingly. Only later did we learn that the people at TRT had been forced by the illegitimate military forces to lie down on the floor with their hands tied behind their backs, they had guns held to their backs and were told to obey orders. That is, they were forced by the participants of the failed coup to carry out tasks that they normally would not contemplate.It was perhaps when we watched poor Karaş that the cold reality started to sink in. It was during these hours that news of parliament was being bombed started to filter in. The F-16s started to fly low overhead, leaving behind a sonic boom. It all got very scary very quickly.But then the situation started to change. From early on, local party officials and local political leaders had encouraged the people to go onto the streets. To take to the streets, to refuse to heed the curfew being imposed by a group of soldiers who had no authority to impose such an order. This was then reiterated by the Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım. That is, by the time that the President appeared on our screens and told us to take to the streets, the majority of the nation was already there.We watched with joy as the people took the city, the country back. My favorite headline of all time will be: "The people have liberated TRT." The people went in and forced the soldiers to leave the television station. Unarmed people forced soldiers out and liberated the state television station.Unarmed people forced the tanks to leave the airports. Unarmed people forced soldiers to surrender.There are other heroes from last night as well. There are the soldiers who had been told they were going to carry out exercises, drills. These young privates went along only to find that the drill included shooting real people. The heroes are those soldiers who refused to go along with the coup. Those soldiers who said "I will not shoot my fellow citizens."There are many heroes from last night. Citizens and police and soldiers. July 15-16 was a night of heroism. A night in which history was made. A night that will not be forgotten.July 15-16 was the night that Turkey grew up. All the leaders of the four major political parties agreed for the first time. They are in agreement that the failed coup was illegitimate and cannot be allowed to continue. If it had not been for this agreement, the people would not have been so successful.The success came because people from all walks of life, from across the political spectrum, went out and seized back democracy. Some of my Justice and Development Party (AK Party) friends related how people said: "I didn't vote for you. I will never vote for you. But I will stand beside you to defend the democratic rights of this country."All four leaders refused to use the failed coup to score points off one another. Probably for the first time ever in Turkish history. Probably for the first time the leaders of the four major parties stood together to face a common enemy - a small group of putschists who were not answerable to the Turkish people or government. It is this stance that changed the tide of the night.Such sentiments are what makes history. Such moments are history.One feels quite warm and fuzzy. To see the Turkish nation stand together. CNN, A Haber, NTV all were providing news from the same side. This is not something we are used to. But I, for one, would like to get used to it.There are those in Turkey who are still trying to rock the boat. But this is their last gasp. They are on their way out.Unfortunately, others outside Turkey are still twisting and turning facts to fit the story that they want to tell. They are not interested in the truth.A BBC correspondent tweeted: "He survived nationwide protests and a corruption scandal that would have brought down others - now #Erdogan will pull through stronger again."How badly this correspondent has understood events. I would almost feel sorry for him if I did not feel that he might be writing in this way just a tiny bit on purpose.No one who watched and understood what unfolded last night could think that what happened was about Erdoğan.The Turkish people had stood up for their democratic traditions. The Turkish people had said "no more coups." The Turkish people had wrested their freedom back from a group of usurpers.If it had just been the BBC, who got so much wrong about the events of the night - where President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was, that he was fleeing for his life - I could understand.But Deutsche Welle asked for an interview with me. They asked me if the events of the night would not simply make Erdogan stronger. This was perhaps the 50th interview I had done in 20 hours. I was a bit sharp and told them to stop being so ridiculous. What had been reinforced, what had been strengthened was the Turkish nation and Turkish democracy.The fact that a country is facing three terrorist groups - the PKK, DAESH and Gülenists, who proved that they are terrorists last night - means that there needs to be a strong leader. Every Western country looks for a strong leader at times like this. Yet when the country in question is Turkey, our strong leader is quickly distorted into an autocrat, a dictator by outside observers.Merve Kavakçı also gave an interview to Deutsche Welle and they asked a similar question. She answered with the class and grace that we expect from her. Kavakçı was asked: "There are worries that Erdoğan will tighten up his rule by using the excuse of the coup." Her answer, it is a classic - please take note:"There has been an attempted army coup in Turkey. Hundreds of civilians have lost their lives, democracy is under attack and you are asking such an orientalist question [she smiles sardonically]. You would not be asking this question if we were talking about a Western country."Nothing more need be said.Crazy conspiracy theories

The latest crazy stuff that the Western media is putting out there is too ridiculous not to poke fun at. They say that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan staged the coup to strengthen his authoritarian power. Wow. Really, wow.

Erdoğan staged a coup. He turned a blind eye to endangering the lives of civilians, to the destruction and the damage. Well, I guess if he were the person the West sometimes depicts him as, he could do this. The problem is he is not that person.

Ah, you say. Give me evidence that he is not such a person. We want hard evidence.

I cannot give you hard evidence that he is a good, kind person. Well, there was the football match that was to take place yesterday to raise money for African orphans.

Ah, you say. That was put on because he wants to play football with Lionel Messi. It was only to underpin his megalomania.

OK. And Messi went along with it. Why?

Turks know he is not a megalomaniac. He is authoritarian. More accurately, the government of Turkey is authoritarian. Because it needs to be. Because this is a country threatened by three terrorist organizations. Three. Count them:

DAESH – no one would disagree with this. The PKK, even though the Western media loves to call them Kurdish rebels, they are terrorists. They represent a small section of the Kurdish population, many of whom are out in the street as guardians of democracy. And they are terrorists. They target schools during class time and hospitals full of patients. It is because they blew up ambulances that Turkey has the unwelcome distinction of being the first country to create, and need, armored ambulances.

Gülenists – wait, you say. You want to call them terrorists too? Isn't that too much? No it is not. Yes, they are terrorists. Any group that raids a television station and holds presenters at gun point, forcing them to read a statement is a terrorist group. Any group that fires on unarmed civilians, tries to run them over with tanks and shoots at them from helicopters is a terrorist group. Any group that bombs the headquarters of a nation's democracy is a terrorist group. Any group that kidnaps high-ranking military officers is a terrorist group.

If any other country faced such threats it would demand an authoritarian figure to confidently lead the country. Yet, double standards mean that when Turkey faces a three-fold terrorist threat, decisiveness, or authoritarianism, is a problem.

OK, I have wandered off topic. I was talking about this crackpot theory that Fethullah Gülen put out that Erdoğan staged this coup himself.

Even if Erdoğan is authoritarian, even if we cannot get you to accept that he is not a person to wantonly cause the death of anyone, let alone innocent civilians, there is no way that he staged this coup.

If Erdoğan had staged this coup, the leaders of the four major political parties – for some strange reason both co-chairs of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ were out of town; the Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was also out of town but the Parliament waited for him - but that is another matter for another day – the four leaders would not have come together to sign a joint statement. If Erdoğan had staged this coup then the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) would have been there, marching with the military. Remember that after the horrible bombings in Ankara, MHP was calling for martial law, demanding curfews and demanding the military step in – just a few months ago. They would have ensured that the coup succeeded in bringing down the government. That the plan backfired.

If Erdoğan had staged this coup, the CHP would have been at the front lines alongside the MHP. They would have ensured that the plan backfired. They want nothing more than the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to disappear. Then they might have a chance to run the country for the first time since the single-party period.

If Erdoğan had staged this coup, the HDP, too, would have been fighting side by side with the soldiers to make sure that the plan backfired. What else have they been doing for the past year but supporting the PKK to try to tear the country in two and bring the government down. Or at least to secede from the nation.

Evidence you say? You need evidence? The evidence is that the entire nation stood up for democracy. The evidence is that the entire nation rallied. The evidence is that all parties, all religions, all people stood against plotters dressed up as soldiers and said: "No. We do not want this."

The people of Turkey stepped up to protect democracy. What happened is not a matter about supporting the AK Party or Erdoğan.

To paraphrase the protestors during the Gezi Park protests: Do you still not get it? It's not about Erdoğan. It's much bigger than that. What happened is about democracy. What happened is about Turks' right as a nation to self-determination. Forget the French Revolution or the American Revolution. The night of the failed coup is the new turning point in modern history.