Istanbul/elections: Taksim Square under transformation Turkey's ruling party party has chosen former prime minister Binali Yildirim as its candidate in the Istanbul mayoral election scheduled for March 31. Istanbul is the country's most populous city and has been the site of much new construction since the AKP took power. IMAGES of one of the most symbolic works in the city: a huge new mosque that is being built on Taksim square, once the symbol of secularism.