Today the Turks call the Hippodrome At Meydan, which means horse square. originally it was the Circus Maximus. With a length of 400m there was space for 100000 people. Septimus Severus started the construction in 203 and 120 years later Konstantin the Great enlarged it. This was the place not only for circus games, but also for parties, political demonstrations and even riots. In 1203 a big fire destroyed the city and the Hippodrome decayed. After the conquest of Konstantinopel by Sultan Mehmet Fatih in 1253 the remains of the Hippodrome were used as quarry to build mosques and palaces.