The concert was held in the Eyup District of the city, which has a large religious community where Ramadan is strictly observed. The local authorities, dominated by the AK Party, defended the ban, citing the religious sensitivities of the locals. Yet in reality, local sensitivities in Eyup seem mixed.

"People in the neighborhood organized a petition to stop alcohol being sold at the concert," said a 40-year-old shopkeeper, who is fasting. "But I didn't sign it. Because I don't believe you should interfere in other people's lives." A woman dressed in religious garb interjected, "This is a predominantly Muslim area. So the ban was necessary out of respect for us."

Representatives of the pro-secular main opposition People's Republican Party (CHP) in the Eyup District, sees the alcohol ban at the concert as part of a wider policy extending beyond Ramadan. The objective is to turn Eyup into a "dry" neighborhood, citing the closing down of the few remaining alcohol outlets. "Neighborhood pressure by religious people and the religiously controlled local authority are having a growing effect on secular locals," warned Inan Celiker a local CHP party official. "It's pushing people to drink illegally in the back of shops."

"Neighborhood pressure," a phrase coined by one of the country's leading sociologists, Serif Mardin, is becoming a major factor in the civic debate. Mardin maintains that more than any deliberate policy by the Islamic-oriented government, pressure in areas where the majority are pious, forces secular people to adopt a more religious way of life.

The devout Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has waded into the controversy. "They want all our youth to be alcoholics. What on earth is this? I told the university authorities we were upset over the festival. For Allah's sake, how can this occur? Can anyone allow alcohol to be sold on a school campus? Will the student go there to get drunk on alcohol or find knowledge?" Erdogan declared during a late July television interview.

Following that verbal broadside, Istanbul Bilgi University authorities announced that alcohol would no longer be served at future concerts on campus.

Istanbul is home to some of Islam's most important mosques, along with a large pious Muslim population. But it's also famous for its vibrant nightlife with its bars and restaurants that have long been part of the city's fabric. Meyhane restaurants serving tasty tapas-like dishes, accompanied by the national drink of raki, a potent aniseed spirit, date back to the 19th century.

And fears are growing that Istanbul's delicate balance is reaching a tipping point.

Even in areas long associated with foreigners and Western ways, pressure is mounting against those who like to consume alcohol. On the night of August 14, for instance, Beyoglu authorities removed bar and restaurant signs, claiming that such signage was incongruent with the historical appearance of the area. "In Beyoglu, they [authorities] don't say [anything] directly, but the right to drink alcohol in public places is diminishing, and that is an entertainment area," said Gokhan Tan, a media studies teacher at Istanbul Bilgi University.