AP. The passing of one of the greatest down home actors of all time -- Andy Griffith -- brings to mind that, sadly, many of the actors who lived in the fictional town of Mayberry, NC are no longer with us.
The Medes were an people of Indo-Iranian (Aryan) origin who inhabited the western and north-western portion of present-day Iran. By the 6th century BC (prior to the Persian invasion) the Medes were able to establish an empire that stretched from Aran (the modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan) to Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Medreses (theological schools) are the most important monuments of Samarkand. A traditional medrese was composed of a rectangular courtyard surrounded by the cells for the students: it housed a small mosque and some larger rooms where students had their lessons when they could not meet in the courtyard.