Today will mark one week since the July 15 coup attempt by a Gülenist junta, but the nation continues to occupy the streets for what is called a "democracy watch." In every city and small town, locals carrying Turkish flags gather every night at squares to denounce the coup attempt and voice support for Turkey's democratically elected government in an unprecedented public movement against coups, in a country whose modern history has been marred by a number of coup d'états.

The gatherings initially began as a spontaneous reaction and an act of vigilance to stop coup troops taking over state buildings, but are now better organized thanks to the government and nongovernmental organizations urging citizens to play their part.

The largest crowds naturally gather in big cities such as Istanbul and the capital Ankara, the two worst hit cities during the incidents, where junta officers gunned down unarmed civilians and tanks crushed locals obstructing access to public buildings. The largest convention was scheduled to take part on the Bosporus Bridge on Thursday evening. The bridge was one of the first places captured by the Gülenist junta, which blocked its entrances by parking their tanks.

Every evening since, celebrities and politicians have been rallying crowds at the gatherings, which are usually followed by convoys of cars draped with flags honking their horns until the late hours of the day. The guest for Wednesday evening's rally in Kızılay, a square a few hundred meters from the army's headquarters, was Youth and Sports Minister Akif Çağatay Kılıç. Kılıç said although the coup attempt was "entirely stopped," their work "has not finished." "Those opening fire on the public, on the presidential palace, Parliament, the army's headquarters will be punished," he told a cheering crowd.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed a crowd gathered for the rally in the central city of Konya via a video broadcast on large screens installed at the city's major square. "We will stand united. I see tens of thousands of people in Konya gathered here to stand for democracy and I believe you will continue to do so," he said.