Anti-coup protests, Taksim Square, July 26, 2016. Joti Heir

For the first time in a long time Turkey has woken up to news of detainee releases rather than news of new arrests and warrants in relation to the miserable failure of a putsch on July 15.

Close to 800 conscripts have been released from police custody, a welcome respite for the hundreds of families  that have been camped outside of detention centers.

And in a surprise move, on Friday, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced he would be dropping all lawsuits filed against those accused of insulting him, that number clinks in at around 2000.

Then there is the citizenry, two weeks after the failed coup attempt, the street and square watch is going strong. Every night since July 15, thousands of people hit the streets, waving flags, honking horns while singing the president's name.  City squares have become home to nightly gatherings with music, food and a vibrating nationalism. "How blessed is he who can call himself a Turk," is a common phrase among the citizen watch as is "no to coups and yes to democracy.

Looking out at the crowds in neighborhoods in Istanbul you see little grandmas waving giant Turkish flags and babies with Turkish flag bandannas and moms and dads and kids decked out in Turkish flag t-shirts. The mood is festive and people feel good, they've saved their country they say, they're not going to leave the streets empty they say.

They're not lying, the frenetic honking and cheering of crowds goes well into the nights in the weekdays and into the early mornings on the weekends.

It is a strange time in the country, party limes have been allowed to blur for what officials call the greater good - the good of the country.

In fact, on July 24, the main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP) held an anti- coup rally in Taksim Square, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) joined.

That Sunday, the square filled with tens of thousands CHP and AKP supporters, a historic first for an official gathering. Not only was the joint gathering a first, where it happened was significant.

Taksim Square was at the center of the 2013 Gezi Park protests, protests which stemmed from the AKP's plans to redevelop Gezi park with a mall, military barracks and mosque. The protesters on the most part leaned toward the left, and those that didn't lean left  weren't leaning toward Erdoğan either.

As it is now,  Taksim Square filled up every night, from the end of May until June 15, when the Occupy-type movement was cleared by police.

For the first time post-coup attempt, some of the Gezi crowd was back in rally mode thanks to the left-leaning CHP-championed rally. The ideological differences still exist, but now, for many people, those differences take a backseat to protecting the country. You hear it everywhere now, this country is ours and this country is first.