The Istanbul protests remained unstoppable in its 14th day as protesters continue to double, even triple, in number.

The Taksim Square became a combat zone as the police has successfully taken over the area as a result of their 21-hour attack from 7 am on Tuesday until 4 am on Wednesday.

As a response to police's another violent attack, multitude of people marched from Harbiye passing across the Cumhuriyet Street to support the protesters who had been defending the Gezi Park.

But the people were dispersed right away by police's water cannons and tear gas. The people tried to overcome these obstacles but to no avail. The water cannons keep pushing them away from Gezi Park.

In a safer area of the Gezi Park, medical and volunteer teams continued with their emergency operation. A lot of people needed medical aid because of the suffocation brought about by tear gas. Luckily, there were also ambulances that promptly brought those severely injured to the hospital.

The police were able to gain entry to the park and set the tents and makeshift camps on fire. The protesters saw that fighting back was useless. Instead, they just got buckets of water from a nearby water supply and distributed the water for protesters to wet any cloth, blankets or T-shirts, to protect their noses from both the smoke and tear gas. Some protesters keenly threw back the canisters of tear gas to the police.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the local media were singing the same tune: marginal groups were putting the peaceful and environmentalist youth in danger. They summoned for parents to fetch their children back home because the government cannot guarantee the civilians' safety anymore.

The protesters remained unfazed. It was as if, every time they survive the police's violent attacks, the more they persist; the more their morales were boosted.

In other news, CNN International was able to interview tourists travelling to Istanbul amidst the 14-day protest.

According to tourists interviewed, aside from some minor itinerary change, they were not afraid to roam the streets of Istanbul.

Juanito Pardo, a tourist from Columbia, had been in Istanbul since June 10. According to her, even with the news of the protest and her family's warning, she went on with her trip and never regretted her decision.

Ms Pardo said, "There was a lot of traffic, a lot of police, and some roads were closed so we chose to walk and couldn't go everywhere we wanted to. We had to cancel some plans, like having dinner at Mika, which is located in Taksim. We couldn't see Istiklal Street, which we heard a lot about."

Another tourist, 23-year-old Kevin Patnode from New York, a coordinator for an English language programme, arrived in Istanbul on June 4. He told CNN that "The protests made me want to come even more. Besides Taksim Square, the surrounding areas are untouched by the current situation. I even visited Gezi Park three times and never felt unsafe. Even though I speak no Turkish, I never felt out of place or that I was unsafe."

According to Mr Patnode, his social life was the only one aspect affected by the protest. "Istanbul is a party city and Turks know how to have a good time. But after the protests, a lot of people find it inappropriate to be out and going to the bars and clubs surrounding taksim. It is certainly not frowned upon for foreigners to go out and enjoy themselves, and I've been encouraged to go out and continue to enjoy Istanbul - however I cannot expect my Turkish friends to come along and join me."

One Turk had an interesting description of the present Istanbul. The local said, "Istanbul is as appealing as ever. Much like a beautiful woman, but with smudged mascara."