May Day celebrated peacefully in Istanbul's Taksim Square

Tens of thousands gathered in Taksim Square in Istanbul on Saturday to celebrate Labor Day and to mark the end of "May Day syndrome" in Turkey . The square until this year was the venue for skirmishes between demonstrators and security forces as it was closed to rallies after May Day of 1977, also known as Bloody May Day, when 37 people were killed after unknown assailants opened fire on the crowd. Since then, May Day has been a source of tension in Turkey . But last year the government decided to make May Day an official holiday and open Taksim Square up to celebrations. Three decades after Bloody May Day, amid high security measures, Taksim Square over the weekend became the venue of mostly peaceful celebrations. For security, 22,500 policemen from Istanbul were aided by 3,500 more flown in from Antalya , Adana , Sanliurfa, Gaziantep , Adiyaman, Trabzon and Erzurum . Helicopters were used to help coordinate security. Interior Minister Besir Atalay declared May Day syndrome a thing of the past. Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler underlined that everything went as planned and that he hopes future May Days will be even bigger. Istanbul Police Chief Huseyin Capkin said May Day celebrations are an important milestone on Turkey 's path to peace and freedom.