Uzbekistan culture is very colorful and distinctive. It has been formed over millenniums and has taken in traditional and customs of various nations settled on the territory of today Uzbekistan.The main contribution to the development was made by ancient Iranians, nomad Turkic tribes, Arabs, Chinese, Russians. Traditions of multinational Uzbekistan reflected in the music, dances, fine art, applied arts, language, cuisine and clothing. Population of the republic, especially rural population revere traditions deeply rooted in the history of the country.The Great Silk Road played a great role in the development of Uzbekistan culture. Being the trade route, it ran from China to two destinations: first one was to Ferghana Valley and Kazakh steppes and second route led to Bactria, and then to Parthia, India and Middle East up to Mediterranean Sea. The Silk Road favored to exchange not only goods, but also technologies, languages, ideas, religions. Thereby the Great Silk Road led to the spread of Buddhism on the territory of Central Asia, where you still may find traces of Buddhist culture: Adjina-tepe in Tadjikistan, Buddhist temple in Kuva, Fergana valley, Fayaz-Tepa near Termez in Uzbekistan and etc.
Music and musical instruments traveled together with vagrant musicians following caravans, and secrets of paper manufacture, iron coining and embossing also moved from country to country.In 1991 Uzbekistan obtained its independence that promoted the rapid development of handicrafts and traditional applied art, rebirth of Uzbek traditions and customs, development of Uzbekistan traditional culture.
Culture of Uzbekistan is one of the brightest and original cultures of East. It is inimitable national music, dances and painting, unique national kitchen and clothes. The Uzbek national music is characterized as variety of subjects and genres. The songs and tool plays according to their functions and forms of usage can be divided into two groups: performed in the certain time and under the certain circumstances and performed at any time. The songs connected with customs and traditions, labor processes, various ceremonies, dramatized entertainment representations and games belong to the first group.
The Uzbek people is well-known for its songs. Koshuk - household song with a small diapason melody, covering one or two rows of the poetic text. The dancing character of a melody of this genre provides their performance in support of comic dances. "Lapar" is a dialogue-song. In some areas the term - lapar is applied to wedding songs "Ulan" (which is performed as a dialogue of man and women). Genre "yalla" includes two kinds of songs: a melody of a narrow range, and solo simultaneously with dance. National and professional poems of the poets of East are used as the texts for the songs. The special place in the Uzbek musical heritage occupy "dastans" (epic legends with lyric-heroic content). Also "Makoms"- are the basic classical fund of professional music of oral tradition.
The dances of uzbeks distinguish softness, smoothness and expressiveness of movements, easy sliding step, original movements on a place and on a circle.
The development of national painting began many centuries ago. At 16-17 centuries art of the manuscript and binding in Bukhara and some other urban centers has achieved significant success. The decorating of manuscript included refined calligraphy, performance by water paints and thin ornaments on fields. In Samarkand and especially in Bukhara the Central Asian school of a miniature has achieved a great success and were developed many different style directions. One of them, for example is connected with traditions of Behzod, which characterized with its gentle style of writing the letter and architectural elements.