Some 700,000 Turks waving the red national flag flooded central Istanbul on Sunday [29 April 2007] to demand the resignation of the government, saying the Islamic roots of Turkey's leaders threatened to destroy the country's modern foundations. "They want to drag Turkey to the dark ages," said 63-year-old Ahmet Yurdakul, a retired government employee who attended the protest. Sunday's crowd chanted that the presidential palace was "closed to imams."