Millions took to the streets to celebrate the new Egypt today, reminding military rulers to keep their promise of a swift transition to civilian rule after people power swept away autocrat Hosni Mubarak in just 18 days.
On an emotional day that will become a landmark in modern Egyptian history, an influential preacher told the nation to be patient with the army who he urged to step up the pace of reform by replacing the government and freeing political prisoners.
Sheikh Yousef al-Qaradawi, a Qatar-based preacher and one of the first to back the revolution, told worshippers in Tahrir Square that fear had been lifted from Egyptians who had toppled a modern pharaoh through faith and triumphed over sectarianism.
Hundreds of thousands joined rallies across Egypt, which are also a memorial to the 365 people who died in the uprising. Many said they would carefully guard their newly-won promises from the military of democracy and elections within six months.
"This is a serious message to the military," said Mohamed el-Said (28) who travelled to Cairo from Port Said, gesturing to the colourful sea of people from all walks of life around him who rallied to mark the stepping down of Mr Mubarak a week ago.
"After today, it will be more than obvious to them that if they don't protect the revolution and respond to the people's demands, the next time people go down to Tahrir won't be to celebrate victory, but they will bring their blankets with them like before," he told reporters in Tahrir (Liberation) Square.
The revolution in Egypt, a US ally which signed the first Arab peace treaty with Israel, sent tremors through the region. Protests erupted in Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Iran and Iraq, taking their cue from Egypt and Tunisia who toppled their leaders.
"We do not want to see these faces linked to corruption and violence and camels, killing people," said Sheikh Qaradawi, referring to an assault on pro-democracy protesters during the revolt when Mubarak supporters charged the crowds on horses and camels.
"I call on the Egyptian army to liberate us from the government that Mubarak formed," Mr Qaradawi told the faithful at noon prayers in Tahrir Square, after which the huge crowd exploded with cheers and waved national flags in jubilation.
The cabinet now in place is largely the same as one that Mr Mubarak (82) appointed shortly before he stepped down from the presidency. A reshuffle is expected in the next few days.
Sheikh Qaradawi said the army, which was praised by the White House for its conduct during the revolt, was "the shield of the people" and was in a hurry to hand over to civilian rule.
Life in Egypt is still far from normal a week after Mr Mubarak's exit, with tanks on the streets, banks and schools closed, workers on strike and further anti-government protests.
There were tanks and armoured vehicles at the entrances to the sprawling square, which was packed tightly with marchers, bowing simultaneously in prayer joined by red-bereted military police and other uniformed soldiers guarding the area.
Soldiers handed out national flags and marchers took photographs of themselves and their families smiling with tank crews alongside their armoured vehicles. People on the banks of the Nile River that runs through Cairo danced and banged drums.
About 5,000 people gathered peacefully in another part of Cairo, Mohandisseen, chanting slogans of gratitude to Mr Mubarak and apologies for the way in which he was deposed, saying they supported revolution but objected to Mr Mubarak's treatment.
"The people want to honour the president," they chanted, dressed in black as a signal of remorse about the ailing Mr Mubarak, who is in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Banners at the rally said: "Yes to change, no to humiliation."
The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group which says it is committed to democracy, is seen as the only truly organised political group in Egypt and believes it could win up to 30 per cent of votes in an election. The Brotherhood, which is playing a key role in the run-up to elections, also warned of the need to protect gains.
"We urge all noble people ... to guard the revolution and its legitimate demands, and not to leave the chance for opportunists to kidnap it and its accomplishments which, with God's permission, have begun to bear fruit," said the Brotherhood's leader Mohamed Badie, just ahead of the march.
"This is an Egypt that cannot be deceived," Mr Badie said in his message to followers on the Brotherhood's website.
Egypt's official state news agency, which before Mr Mubarak's downfall, had largely ignored or played down protests, said today that more than two million people were in Tahrir Square, which became the nerve-centre for anti-Mubarak protest.
Such a popular outpouring of emotion was on a par with the 1970 death of president Gamal Abdel Nasser, whose speeches gripped and galvanised the Arab world, when mourners flooded the streets of Cairo and Egyptian cities.
Reuters