On a day Egypt woke up to a new freedom, thousands continued to descend on Tahrir Square—the liberation centre that was the core of the uprising—but this time they were armed with brooms and dustbins in a symbolic clean-up to bring back the country to normalcy.

After a night-long party that lit up Cairo streets, thousands of Egyptians streamed into the square on Friday, removing banners, taking down tents, carting out garbage and even scrubbing the streets.