We often heard the remorseful remark, "If we had taken to the streets when they arrested Menderes, the military junta couldn't have hanged him!" in Turkey from the older generations; but never fully comprehended until last night. Adnan Menderes was hanged after a military coup in 1960 with his two ministers. He was the first democratically elected prime minister of Turkey. He managed to remain in power for three periods after a democratic election. He was suspended from his duty by force of arms with a coup planned by a junior level military group; he was put on phony trial and was hanged but never forgotten and became a democratic hero in Turkey. The story of Menderes caused irreparable trauma for the next generation of Turkish politicians.There was a saying in Game of Thrones would explain the political impasse in Turkey in the most clear way: "I swear to you, sitting a throne is a thousand times harder than winning one." When Erdoğan came into power, he stated that he acquired his political roots from Menderes. He said, "We take this road with our white burial robe" and repeated this promise many times. In 2007, the Turkish Armed Forces' attempt at intimidating the government by publishing a notice on its website was met with great resistance. The public support for Erdoğan and the international support didn't allow any further steps. The banners "Army to Take Over," which were normalized by the Kemalist circles until that day, hit a wall that was built by the majority of the Turkish people. Liberals, conservatives and even some leftist groups stood against the banners "Army to Take Over" together and demanded the army step back from politics. Though the army's influence on politics was relatively reduced, the whisper of a potential coup always haunted Turkey like a ghost.Though this whisper had always been at the back of everyone's mind, what happened in Turkey Friday night struck everybody without exception. When the hustle around the Beylerbeyi Palace, which belongs to the Presidency, the soldiers' existence on the streets, the closure of the bridges that link the Anatolian and European side and the claim of "Return to your home! The army has taken over power" appeared on social media, we faced with the deathly cold question of "can there be a coup in Turkey after all those struggles for democracy?" However, just after the rumor of a curfew and the news of the soldiers using force against the people couldn't prevent millions of people taking to the streets. In just a couple of hours, everybody started to notify their status from different places. From Istanbul,Ankara, Erzurum, İzmir and many others, while people were taking to the streets, there had already been a notice read out on TRT - the state channel - by force saying that the army had "fully seized control" of the country. However, social media was still working and other channels were broadcasting. People were inviting each other to gather in front of the media channels like CNN and TRT and resist the coup. The ones who went to the squares, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) provincial buildings, Bosporus Bridge, Presidential Palace and courthouses were chanting, "We will resist!" Still, no one had been aware of how dark the night would get with until the parliamentary building and Turkish Intelligence Service's Headquarters were bombed by planes and civilians shot by air force.In those minutes, President Rcep Tayyip Erdoğan urged citizens to take control of the streets. Erdogan's speech to public and his call for resistance, his promise to people 'We will overcome this' encouraged Turkish people to survive their resistance at the cost of their life. Opposition parties, the Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party's (MHP) announced their support for the elected government as well as the media's courageous broadcasting. Their support brought brightness to the dark atmosphere that Turkey was experiencing. Housewives that ran with flags, children, old people and young people that ran towards the tanks against the fully armed putschists with their flags upgraded a resistance to a glorious victory for democracy. Photos of civilians climbing on and lying on tanks were starting to spread on social media. The solidarity calls from the mosques and prayer calls through the minarets gathered all of Turkey, from seven year olds to 70 year olds, to the streets.It is not only an attempted coup by Gulen Movement, led the US based Scholar Fethullah Gulen and designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, but is also a wide terrorist attack targeting the civilians. Turkey has lost more than 160 people in this quashed Gulenist coup attempt so far. There are approximately 2,000 injured. Thousands of soldiers and judges responsible have been taken into custody. They will all be put on trial. The Turkish public has called for the government to apply the death sentence for the executives of the coup. There is a call to shut İncirlik Air Base down in case Fethullah Gülen, the man responsible for the attempted coup, won't be surrendered. The government, that needed the people to resist and protect democracy, now faces a very hard task. Now it is the responsibility of the government towards these citizens to identify and expel the FETO terror organization from each cell in the state. It was their last try just before the Supreme Military council meeting scheduled in August 1st and planning a major reshuffling in the army by discovering Gulen cells within it. The danger posed by the Gulenist was proved once more last night and now Erdogan has a wider group of allies to fight against them. If Erdogan and the government make these coup plotters to pay the highest price as they promised, this failed coup will open a new era in Turkish democracy. This very moment will be the end of coups in Turkish history.* Director, Daily Sabah Centre for policy studies, Turkey