Thousands of anti-government protesters have broken their fast for the holy month of Ramadan by sitting down for a meal along a main Istanbul pedestrian street.

As a police water cannon stood watch, the protesters on Tuesday laid newspapers and table cloths on the ground along Istiklal street for a makeshift Ramadan banquet that stretched some 500 meters (yards) toward the city's landmark Taksim Square.

Devout Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset at Ramadan.

Turkey was hit by a wave of protests against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government in June, sparked by a heavy-handed police crackdown on an environmental sit-in at a park near Taksim.

There have been sporadic demonstrations since June. Police broke up protests by thousands wanting to reach the park on Saturday and Monday.

AP