Thousands of people were today occupying Istanbul's Taksim Square, the epicentre of the worst demonstrations in a decade against Turkey's Islamist-rooted government which have seen almost 1,000 people detained and scores wounded.
A sea of protesters from across Turkey's political spectrum were camping out in the iconic square, chanting "Government, Resign!" and "Istanbul is ours, Taksim is ours!" as they celebrated after the police pulled out of the site last night.
Taksim has been at the heart of a wave of more than 90 demonstrations in 48 cities nationwide, the biggest public outcry against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government since it assumed power in 2002.
In Ankara, police fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse some 1,000 protesters who were attempting to march on the prime minister's office.
The unrest began as a local outcry against plans to redevelop Gezi Park near Taksim Square, but after a heavy-handed police response quickly snowballed into broader protests against what critics say is the government's increasingly conservative and authoritarian agenda.
"They call me a dictator," Erdogan said in a speech today, a day after he called for an immediate end to the protests. "If they liken a humble servant to a dictator, then I am at a loss for words."
After two days of violent protests and appeals by Turkey's Western allies for restraint, the situation appeared to have calmed in Istanbul today after police pulled out of Taksim and officials took on a more conciliatory tone.
Interior Minister Muammer Guler said police had detained 939 people as of last evening, but many have been released.
Officials said 53 civilians and 26 police officers were hurt during the violence, while Amnesty International put the number of wounded in the hundreds and said there had been two deaths.
Erdogan yesterday insisted his government would press ahead with the controversial redevelopment though he said the project may not include a shopping mall, as feared by protesters. He also admitted "some mistakes" in the police response to the protest.
Amnesty said some protesters had been left blinded by the massive quantities of tear gas and pepper spray used by police over two days while at least two people were hit in the head with gas canisters.
