REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, ISTANBUL/ANKARA - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a rally of thousands of flag waving supporters on Sunday that his patience with anti-government protests had its limits, while tens of thousands flooded an Istanbul square demanding his resignation.

The majority Muslim but constitutionally secular nation has been shaken by a week of its fiercest protests in decades, unrest which has exposed fault lines between a religiously conservative heartland fiercely supportive of Erdogan and a secular middle class who fear creeping authoritarianism.

Addressing crowds of cheering followers at Ankara airport, one of six rallies planned for Sunday, Erdogan accused the protesters of drinking beer in mosques and insulting women wearing headscarves, a symbol of Islamic piety - both accusations likely to anger his supporters.

"With our government, our party and most importantly our nation, it is we who have defended, and are most strongly defending democracy, law and freedoms," he told crowds chanting slogans including "We are ready to sacrifice our lives for you Tayyip".

At a rival rally at Gezi Park in Istanbul's central Taksim Square, where riot police backed by helicopters and armored vehicles first clashed with protesters a week ago, tens of thousands chanted for the prime minister to resign.

The crowd included secularists carrying flags portraying secular state founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, leftists, nationalists and other groups opposed to Erdogan, who has won three election victories since 2002.

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