Cairo: Egyptians woke to a new dawn on Saturday after 30 years of autocratic rule under Hosni Mubarak, full of hope after achieving almost unthinkable change, with the army in charge and an uncertain future ahead.
As the muezzin's call to prayer reverberated across a misty, Cairo, the sound of car horns honking in jubilation grew louder after a night when millions throughout the Arab world's most populous country joyfully celebrated the fall of the president.
"The Revolution of the Youths forced Mubarak to leave", said a front-page headline in the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper. "The Jan. 25 Revolution won. Mubarak steps out and the army rules," said Al-Gomhuria, another state-run daily.
It remained to be seen how the military high command would create democracy for the first time in a country that traces its history back to the pharaohs more than 5,000 years ago and that has seen such upheaval in an uprising that took just 18 days.
The first priority was law and order before the start of the working week, which begins on Sunday in Egypt. Army tanks and soldiers stayed on the streets guarding key intersections and government buildings after the disgraced police force melted away.
With the threat of possible confrontation between the army and protesters now gone, Cairo residents took souvenir photographs of each other with smiling soldiers at roadblocks to record the first day of a new post-Mubarak era.
"I could not have imagined living to see such a day ... I just hope the new system in Egypt benefits us and fulfils our dreams," Essam Ismail, a Cairo resident in his thirties, told Reuters. "I still can't believe it really happened."
Mubarak, 82, was believed to be at his residence in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, his future unclear.
ARMY TO SUSPEND PARLIAMENT
Al Arabiya television said the army would soon dismiss the cabinet and suspend parliament. The head of the Constitutional Court would join the leadership with the military council, which was given the job of running the country of 80 million people.
Despite misgivings about military rule, the best deterrent to any attempt to keep the high command in power could be the street power and energy of protesters nationwide who showed Mubarak they could make Egypt ungovernable without their consent.
As persistent turmoil in Tunisia showed, a month after the overthrow of it autocratic ruler inspired Egyptians to act, the new government would face huge social and economic problems.
A wave of people power roared across this pivotal U.S. ally in the Middle East. Throughout the region and beyond, autocratic rulers were now calculating their chances of survival.
"It's broken a psychological barrier, not just for North Africa, but across the Middle East. I think you could see some contagion in terms of protests; Morocco, perhaps Jordan, Yemen," said Anthony Skinner of political risk consultancy Maplecroft.