The foundations of the Hypostyle Hall were placed first, followed by the bases of all the columns and the lowest course of blocks for the walls. They then buried the entire region with earth. The next course of stones for all the columns and walls was then set down and buried. This process was repeated until the entire building was complete. Hypostyle is an ancient Greek word meaning "under a roof". It is used to describe a type of architecture in which large open rooms are divided by colonnades of equal-sized pillars without any supporting beams. The term is particularly applied to ancient Egyptian buildings in which large chambers are floored with stone slabs and divested of any internal supports except for the pillars which divide them. Such buildings were especially common in Egypt, where they were used to house religious objects that needed light but not support. The Egyptians called their sacred edifices hypostases, which means "under a roof". In later centuries, the term came to be used for similar structures in Greece and Rome as well. The Basilica Ulma in Istanbul, Turkey is one example of a structure that combines aspects of both Egyptian and Greek architecture. It is considered the largest church in the Ottoman Empire. The Venetian Arsenal on the edge of Venice City limits was built in 1495 as a storehouse and shipyard for the city-state.