NPR– As the center of the political whirlwind that toppled President Hosni Mubarak earlier this year, Cairo’s Tahrir Square became synonymous with revolution in Egypt.

Now, the protesters have returned: Nearly three weeks ago, demonstrators unhappy with the pace of change in Egypt began camping out in the square, hoping to revive the spirit that shook the country six months ago.

Tahrir, or Liberation, Square has become a political festival — with singing, dancing, face-painting and arguing. It’s a sit-in, a camp-in, a tent city — a place of artistic expression and political freedom unlike anything Egypt has seen in decades.

It was created primarily by the young, and protesters like 26-year-old Ramy Muhammad Abdullah don’t want to give it up.

People in Tahrir Square walk by graffiti showing a protester with an Egyptian flag in front of the sun on Saturday.

“Every day I finish my work and I come here [to] Tahrir Square. I’m trying to do my best to achieve our goals. Because our revolution until now didn’t achieve anything from our goals,” he says.

That’s become the mantra of Cairo’s protest movement: The military council that is Egypt’s caretaker government has moved too slowly; the revolution has stalled. Flags and posters and banners in the square announce that message — sometimes expressed with anger, other times with humor and sarcasm.

Take the fight over the word “thug.” When the protesters march, the military calls them thugs. The protesters counter that the military employs thugs to squash the revolution. Semantics clash on banners flapping in the wind.

Tahrir Square is not a quiet place. The air is filled with the sound of speeches and chanting, which breaks out all the time.

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