İhsan Yalçın / Istanbul, May 1 () - Police blocked the cars carrying tourists from the airport to the Hotels in Taksim district, under police blockade to against the May Day celebrations.

Many tourists had to leave the cars and walk to the hotels they had booked, pulling their heavy suitcases.

Istanbul’s Taksim Square and surrounding districts are on lockdown by more than 20 thousand police officers, and water cannons (TOMA) and iron crush barriers to prevent celebrations of May Day.

Authorities in Istanbul have tightened security ahead of the national holiday, with iron barricades erected in the city center.

Taksim Square has symbolic meaning for the Turkish left, as over 30 people were killed in 1977 when suspected nationalists opened fire on May Day participants from what is now the Marmara Hotel.

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- Iron barricades
- TOMAs
- Tourist groups are blocked
- Tourists walking with suitcases
- General and detail views

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