stanbul, Turkey (CNN) -- Police fired tear gas and water cannons at protesters camped out in Istanbul's main commercial district early Friday.
Officers in riot gear entered the Taksim Gezi Park, the site of a four-day-long protest against an urbanization project that would turn the park into a shopping mall.
Demonstrators also oppose plans to rebuild historic barracks from the time of the Ottoman Empire and create a shopping arcade out of them.
Protesters trying to block the bulldozers chanted slogans before police uprooted them from the park.
Demonstrators and police clashed as they moved to the main commercial street, with protestors throwing bottles, setting up barricades and burning trash in the middle of the street.
Turkey halts May Day protesters
Small groups of protestors also clashed with police in side streets.
Police also deployed tear gas in an attempt to disperse protesters on Thursday. Officers cleared out their tents and sleeping bags but failed to end to the sit-in.
Social media
Protesters rallied using Facebook and Twitter, and by Thursday night, the number of people in the park was in the thousands. Their protest has turned into an informal referendum on recent Turkish government policies.
"I saw it on TV ... saw that there were people, young people taking ownership of the environment. I wanted to support them, because I think not supporting them is inhumane," said Adalet Makar, a retired banker who spent Wednesday night at the park in her sleeping bag.
The demonstration has grown in size since late Monday. Public outcry over the proposed project, as well as two police interventions against the demonstrators with tear gas, has drawn more people to the park.
"Gas, gas, gas, it is the only way they deal with problems," said Esen Tuna, a 21-year-old architecture student.
Turkish police routinely use tear gas and water cannons to break up demonstrations.
Government insistent
The government, led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has made clear it will go ahead with the planned project.
"They can do whatever they want. We've made our decision, and we will do as we have decided," Erdogan said Wednesday, according to the semi-official Anadolu news agency.
Erdogan said that the rebuilding of the Ottoman barracks was a matter of having "respect for history."
Critics disagree, arguing that the project is a way for making profit from the sale of valuable real estate in Istanbul's main commercial district.
"This cannot be explained by saying this is historical conservation It is not that, it is about money," said Ece Demirel, an activist with the Urban Movement Forum, an organization that tracks development projects across Turkey.
Erdogan taking heat
The government's other controversial policies have also come under fire.
Erdogan's policy on Syria, which many in Turkey blame for a twin car blast that killed at least 52, as well as a new law that would prohibit vendors from selling liquor from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., are part of the sit-in at Taksim Gezi Park.
"This is only the beginning, our struggle will continue," demonstrators chanted.
Many at the park said they believe this may be the beginning of a turning point in Turkey.
"This is an uprising, a protest against the increasing bans," said Michelle Demishevich, an activist and member of Turkey's Green Party. "Perhaps just like we saw the Arab Spring, this will be the Turkish Spring."
READ MORE: Police try to break up Istanbul shopping project protest
Officers in riot gear entered the Taksim Gezi Park, the site of a four-day-long protest against an urbanization project that would turn the park into a shopping mall.
Demonstrators also oppose plans to rebuild historic barracks from the time of the Ottoman Empire and create a shopping arcade out of them.
Protesters trying to block the bulldozers chanted slogans before police uprooted them from the park.
Demonstrators and police clashed as they moved to the main commercial street, with protestors throwing bottles, setting up barricades and burning trash in the middle of the street.
Turkey halts May Day protesters
Small groups of protestors also clashed with police in side streets.
Police also deployed tear gas in an attempt to disperse protesters on Thursday. Officers cleared out their tents and sleeping bags but failed to end to the sit-in.
Social media
Protesters rallied using Facebook and Twitter, and by Thursday night, the number of people in the park was in the thousands. Their protest has turned into an informal referendum on recent Turkish government policies.
"I saw it on TV ... saw that there were people, young people taking ownership of the environment. I wanted to support them, because I think not supporting them is inhumane," said Adalet Makar, a retired banker who spent Wednesday night at the park in her sleeping bag.
The demonstration has grown in size since late Monday. Public outcry over the proposed project, as well as two police interventions against the demonstrators with tear gas, has drawn more people to the park.
"Gas, gas, gas, it is the only way they deal with problems," said Esen Tuna, a 21-year-old architecture student.
Turkish police routinely use tear gas and water cannons to break up demonstrations.
Government insistent
The government, led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has made clear it will go ahead with the planned project.
"They can do whatever they want. We've made our decision, and we will do as we have decided," Erdogan said Wednesday, according to the semi-official Anadolu news agency.
Erdogan said that the rebuilding of the Ottoman barracks was a matter of having "respect for history."
Critics disagree, arguing that the project is a way for making profit from the sale of valuable real estate in Istanbul's main commercial district.
"This cannot be explained by saying this is historical conservation It is not that, it is about money," said Ece Demirel, an activist with the Urban Movement Forum, an organization that tracks development projects across Turkey.
Erdogan taking heat
The government's other controversial policies have also come under fire.
Erdogan's policy on Syria, which many in Turkey blame for a twin car blast that killed at least 52, as well as a new law that would prohibit vendors from selling liquor from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., are part of the sit-in at Taksim Gezi Park.
"This is only the beginning, our struggle will continue," demonstrators chanted.
Many at the park said they believe this may be the beginning of a turning point in Turkey.
"This is an uprising, a protest against the increasing bans," said Michelle Demishevich, an activist and member of Turkey's Green Party. "Perhaps just like we saw the Arab Spring, this will be the Turkish Spring."
READ MORE: Police try to break up Istanbul shopping project protest
