Student protesters were back on the streets on Wednesday as they marked a week since the start of Turkey's biggest demonstrations against the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan since 2013.

The protests erupted after the March 19 arrest of Istanbul opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a graft and "terror" probe, which the main opposition CHP party slammed as a "coup".

Vast crowds have hit the streets daily, defying a protest ban in Istanbul and other big cities, with the biggest crowds gathering after dark, sparking running battles with riot police.

Ahead of a major rally on Saturday, the CHP appeared to change strategy on Wednesday, urging people to applaud, honk their horns or wave flags from their windows at 1730 GMT.

In Istanbul, crowds of students -- many of them masked -- marched through the Levent business district after a day in which many thousands had flooded the streets chanting: "Government, resign!"

And in the capital, students rallied at Ankara University campus alongside........

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