Protesters erupt in joy as President Hosni Mubarak stepped down Friday
CAIRO, Egypt - President Hosni Mubarak this morning resigned and handed power to the military, and Egypt held its biggest party in decades.The dramatic end to Mubarak's 30 years in power came after a day of widespread confusion over who really ruled Egypt, and massive demonstrations that spread far from Cairo's central Tahrir Square, the nerve center of the protests for more than two weeks.
More than 20,000 protesters gathered outside of state television headquarters, where they chatted amiably with soldiers on tanks. Thousand also walked from downtown to Mubarak's suburban palace, which was guarded not by the regular army but by the Republican Guard, thought to be fiercely loyal to Mubarak.
Ecstatic protesters in Cairo's Tahrir, or Liberation, Square hoisted soldiers onto their shoulders and families posed for pictures in front of tanks in streets flooded with people streaming out to celebrate.- Strangers hugged each other, some fell to kiss the ground, and others stood stunned in disbelief. Chants of "Hold your heads high, you're Egyptian" roared with each burst of fireworks overhead.
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