poetry) and with more abstract motifs such as geometric patterns, muqarnas, and arabesques, as opposed to illustrations of scenes and stories. European Medieval Surviving examples of medieval secular architecture mainly served for defense across various parts of Europe. Castles and fortified walls provide the most notable remaining non-religious examples of medieval architecture. New types of civic, military, as well as religious buildings of new styles begin to pop up in this region during this period. Byzantine Byzantine architects built city walls, palaces, hippodromes, bridges, aqueducts, and churches. They built many types of churches, including the basilica (the most widespread type, and the one that reached the greatest development). After the early period, the most common layout was the cross-in-square with five domes, also found in Moscow, Novgorod or Kiev, as well as in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania. Through modifications and adaptations of local inspiration, the Byzantine style will be used as the main source of inspiration for architectural styles in all Eastern Orthodox countries. For example, in Romania, the Brâncovenesc style is highly based on Byzantine architecture, but also has individual Romanian characteristics. Just as the Parthenon is the most famous building of Ancient Greek architecture, Hagia Sophia remains the iconic church of Orthodox Christianity. In Greek and Roman temples, the exterior was the most important part of the temple, where sacrifices were made; the interior, where the cult statue of the deity to whom the temple was built was kept, often had limited access by the general public. But Christian liturgies are held in the interior of the churches, Byzantine exteriors usually having little if any ornamentation. Byzantine architecture often featured marble columns, coffered ceilings and sumptuous decoration, including the extensive use of mosaics with golden backgrounds. The building material used by Byzantine architects was no longer marble, which was very appreciated by the Ancient Greeks. They used mostly stone and brick, and also thin alabaster sheets for windows. Mosaics were used to cover brick walls, and any other surface where fresco wouldn't resist. Good examples of mosaics from the proto-Byzantine era are in Hagios Demetrios in Thessaloniki (Greece), the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo and the Basilica of San Vitale, both in Ravenna (Italy), and Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Romanesque The term 'Romanesque' is rooted in the 19th century, when it was coined to describe medieval churches built from the 10th to 12th century, before the