- NEW: Report: More than 700 people have been detained across the country, with most released
- Scattered demonstrations in Istanbul's commercial hub, Taksim Square
- Prime minister tells TV audience he is no dictator
- Police use tear gar in other areas, send protesters scurrying
Editor's note: Are you in Turkey? Send your stories and photos to CNN iReport.
Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) -- An uneasy peace returned Sunday to Taksim Square, site of Turkey's biggest anti-government protest in years.
Thousands of demonstrators remained in control of the square after Turkish security forces abandoned the district Saturday following 36 hours of vicious clashes and angry demonstrations against the government.
Protesters erected makeshift barricades at the entrance to the square, which holds huge symbolic importance for Turkey's leftist political parties and labor movement.
However, there were reports of confrontations in at least one other neighborhood in Istanbul and in cities such as Ankara and Adana, where a man told CNN the situation was bad.
"There is civil police arresting people all over the place," Cenker Kardesler said by phone. "The police tried to corner the people. They came at us from both sides."
In Taksim Square, tensions remained high between protesters and police, but there were only scattered demonstrations Sunday. Many people joined in cleanup efforts, helping municipal workers.
Protest in Turkey turns violent 
Turkey's political situation deteriorates 
A protester flashes a victory sign as he takes part in a demonstration in Ankara on June 1 in support of the protests in Istanbul against government plans to demolish a park. 
Protesters clash with riot police in Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday, June 1. A police crackdown against a peaceful sit-in ignited the biggest anti-government riots the city has seen in a decade. 
Protesters clash with riot police near Gezi Park on June 1. Earlier this week, several dozen activists tried to stage a sit-in at the park, the last bit of green space left in Istanbul's Taksim Square, the city's transit and commercial hub. 
Turkish protesters wearing gas masks face off against riot police near Istanbul's Taksim Square on June 1. 
Riot police use tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd of demonstrators on June 1. 
A man flees the clashes between Turkish protestors and riot police on June 1. On Friday, May 31, riot police stormed the growing camp in Gezi Park with water cannons and tear gas, pushing protesters into surrounding streets and triggering the clashes that have continued for more than 24 hours. 
The clashes damaged surrounding businesses in Istanbul and forced them to close on June 1. 
A man catches his breath behind the line where clashes are taking place on June 1. 
A pair of tourists gasp for air as riot police use tear gas and water cannons the fend off the demonstrators. Turkish security forces allowed small groups of pedestrians to travel through the square. 
Protesters buy gas masks from a local shop near the square on June 1. 
Riot police fire tear gas into the crowd of protesters overnight on Friday, May 31. 
Demonstrators set up barricades and build a fire as they clash with Turkish officers on May 31. 
Friends carry an injured protester on May 31. More than a dozen people have been injured in the clashes. 
Riot police use tear gas and water cannons to disperse a crowd at Taksim Square on May 31. 
An activist wearing a gas mask is enveloped in a cloud of tear gas on May 31. 
A crowd scatters during clashes on May 31, as one demonstrator throws back the tear gas canister that was launched by riot police. 
Protestors brace themselves as they are fired upon with a water canon by Turkish police forces. 
A large group of demonstrators gather to protest the demolition of Gezi Park in Taksim Square on May 31. 
Anti-government riots erupt in Turkey It was a far cry from Friday and Saturday, when this bustling neighborhood was a battleground as riot police used water cannons, tear gas, pepper spray and armored personnel carriers to prevent protesters from entering this transit and commercial hub at the heart of the city. Saturday afternoon, police withdrew after firing several last volleys of tear gas at crowds, sending thousands of screaming people fleeing for cover.
Police used similar tactics in the Istanbul neighborhood of Besiktas early Sunday, a resident said. A woman who was on her way to buy groceries told CNN she saw police using tear gas and people fleeing in terror.
Police crackdown triggers anti-government riots
Turkey's semi-official news agency reported that more than 700 people have been detained since Tuesday, and most have been released. Andalou News Agency said 58 civilians are still hospitalized and 115 security officers have been injured.
There have been protests in 67 of Turkey's 81 provinces over the past four days, Andalou reported.
What began as a small sit-in to protest against the government's plan to demolish a park in Taksim Square has swelled to the biggest protest movement against Turkey's prime minister since Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected more than 10 years ago. The crowds have been chanting "Tayyip resign" and "shoulder to shoulder against fascism."
In a televised speech on Sunday, Erdogan remained defiant.
"I ask in the name of God, Tayyip Erdogan is a dictator? If you are the kind of person who can call someone who serves their people a dictator, then I have no words for you," Erdogan said.
He went on to praise his accomplishments overseeing a decade of unprecedented economic growth in Turkey. He also defended his record as a leader who has planted many trees.
Court to hear case at center of Istanbul protests
"They are putting on airs saying we massacre trees," he said. "We have planted approximately 2 billion trees."
But many of the demonstrators say their anger is no longer directed against the proposed government plan to demolish Gezi Park, the last green space in central Istanbul.
"This park was just the ignition of all that," said Yakup Efe Tuncay, a 28-year-old demonstrator who carried a Turkish flag while walking through the park Saturday. "The Erdogan government is usually considered as authoritarian. He has a big ego; he has this Napoleon syndrome. He takes himself as a sultan. ... He needs to stop doing that. He's just a prime minister."
The scope of the protests shows there is a bigger issue, about freedom of speech and accusations of authoritative government.
"People are entitled to disagreement with the government; they can exercise their democratic rights, but they can do so within the context of a democratic society," Erdogan's chief adviser, Ibrahim Kalin, said Saturday.
International human rights groups Amnesty International and Greenpeace have denounced what they describe as the excessive use of police force against peaceful protesters.
A spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton issued a statement that said Ashton "regrets disproportionate use of force by members of the Turkish police." Ashton also called for talks between the two sides.
03 Jun, 2013
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