Daybreak on Taksim square and all is quiet... but a few hours earlier, anti-government demonstrations flared up for another night across Turkey.

Riot police shot water cannons and tear gas into the crowds, that at one point included office workers and families with children.

Now almost two weeks old, the demonstrations have gained unprecedented momentum as an anti-government movement.

The handling of the protests has gained international criticism. Three people have died, nearly 5,000 have been injured.

And while Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has so far dismissed the demonstrators as riff-raff, he has agreed to meet with various protest groups later on Wednesday.