In doing so he eclipsed a 35-year-old record set by the great Italian sprinter Pietro Mennea at the 1983 Games in Casablanca. 

Azerbaijan born, but now a naturalised citizen of Turkey, this was Guliyev's first Mediterranean gold after winning two silvers in 2013. 

Eseosa Desalu of Italy was a long way back in second and Meba Mikael Zebe of France took bronze.

There had been drama from the very start with a photo finish in the men's 400m hurdles. 

Ludvy Vaillant of France and Yasmani Escobar of Turkey were both given the same time, a new Games record of 48.76, but the photo gave the verdict to Vaillant. 

Zied Azizi of Tunisia was third.

Carolle Zahi of France won the fastest race of her life to claim women's 200m gold. 

Her new personal best of 23.02 took her away from Gloria Hooper of Italy and Spain's Estela Garcia.

Another great finish came in the men's 1,500m. 

Brahim Kaazouzi of Morocco led them home in 3min 37.14sec but Tunisia's Abdessalem Ayouni pushed him all the way with a late run to the line.

Fouad El Kaam was third with Kaazouzi not even born when the great Said Aouita was making this event his personal property in the 1980s.

There was further good news for the Moroccans to come.

Rababe Arafi came home to win the women's 800m from her compatriot Malika Akkaoui.

Cynthia Anais of France was third with the winning time 2:02.33.

Kaoutar Farkoussi's 5,000m victory made it three Moroccan golds in one night on the track. 

She was even able to celebrate in the home straight. 

She won in a new personal best 15:52.33 as Ines Monteiro of Portugal was second and Ana Lozano of Spain third. 

In the Para-sport women's 800m T54 race for competitors in wheelchairs, Zubeyde Supergeci of Turkey went head to head with Eva Moral of Spain and won in 2:15.48.

Croatia's Andrea Ivancevic came home to win the women's 100m hurdles in 13.19, in front of Luminosa Bogliolo of Italy with Elisavet Pesiridou of Greece in bronze medal position.

In the men's discus Apostolos Parellis sent his second throw out to 62.98m for Cyprus, as Kristjan Ceh of Croatia came closest with his fifth round 62.03 which was not enough. 

Italy's Hannes Kirchner was bronze.

It was a second athletics gold in as many days for Cyprus.

Yanis David of France won the women's triple jump. 

She lept a new personal best of 14.15 in round four to win from Italy's Ottavia Cestonaro and Fatima Diame of Spain.

Majd Eddin Ghazal of Syria cleared 2.28m on his second attempt to win high jump gold as Konstantinos Baniotis of Greece and Marco Fassinotti of Italy both lept 2.23.

Baniotis took silver on countback.