According to a2zcamerablog, Uzbekistan is a country located in Asia. Like the other republics born after the end of the USSR, life and culture in today’s Uzbekistan are the result of heterogeneous factors: the Soviet matrix must be combined with historical elements (the origins of a people that descends from the intersection of nomads and sedentaries of Central Asia, conquests and subjection to various khānati), religious (the spread of Islam), economic-political (the recent past characterized by the difficult transition to independence). In various ways and to different degrees, these reasons recur in the traditions, artistic expressions, and social organization of the country. From the literary point of view this region has expressed important figures of writers and poets, both in past eras, Ali Sir Nevai (15th century), and in the 20th century, with Abdalrauf Fitrat (1886-1938), author of prose dialogues and verses. Among the contemporaries it is worth mentioning Jamal Kemal (b. 1938), defined as a national poet, and the poet Zebo Mirzaeva (b. 1964), among the most interesting voices of contemporary Uzbek poetry. The art and architecture of Uzbekistan best express the numerous influences and presences that have alternated over the centuries, of which Samarkand remains an unsurpassed example, perhaps in the whole of Central Asia. The city, located on the Silk Road, is in fact among the four national beauties included by UNESCO in the world heritage: in addition to this, named in 2001, there are the historic city of Itchan-kala (1990), the historic city of Buhara (1993) and the historic center of Shakhrisyabz (2000).
TRADITIONS
The predominant note of the character of the Uzbeks is hospitality, expressed unreservedly to anyone who wants to share time and experiences. Unlike many of the Central Asian peoples, in fact, the Uzbeks have a mostly sedentary nature, dedicated to breeding, craftsmanship, trade, life in the village and in the family (which especially in rural realities is numerous, up to include 5-6 children). It is above all in the applied arts and crafts that artists and villagers have kept traditional techniques and motifs alive, and in these dimensions, as well as on festive occasions, in ceremonies (such as Independence Day, 1 ° September) and on religious occasions, men and women dressed in typical clothing meet more easily, which vary according to the climatic characteristics of the different regions. Another favorite place for meetings, chat, exchange, as well as trade, is the bazaar, the market. Uzbek cuisine includes some classic dishes from the central-continental region such as plov, based on rice and vegetables, and shashlyk, roasted meat; tea is very common. Over the last few decades, artistic expressions of pure political propaganda have been added to the more traditional forms of folklore, first under the Soviet regime, then in deference to the exuberant personality of President Karimov.
ARTS
In the Sassanid and Islamic epochs the territory of Uzbekistan underwent the Iranian artistic influence. The ruins of notable Islamic monuments are preserved, both civil (the palace of the governor of Termez, 11th-12th century, the caravanserai of Rabāṭ-i Malik, 11th century), and religious (mosques of Maġāk-i Aṭṭārī, 12th century). XII, and Namāzgāh, 1119, in Buhara; mausoleums of the Samanids in Buhara, of Ḥakīmī al-Tirmizī and of Sultan-Sa’adat, 11th century, in Termez). Uzbekistan experienced a great artistic flourishing in the century. XV, especially through the work of princes such as Tīmūr (Tamerlane) and Ulūgh Beg, which is responsible for the great development of Samarkand, which has become one of the most important cultural centers of the time. The monuments (especially religious buildings and mausoleums) are characterized by the originality of the structure and decoration, in which it is evident the intersection of different cultural influences, from local to Islamic and Chinese traditions. In the applied arts ceramics had great importance, especially in Samarkand, in the sec. XV-XVI, when Chinese porcelains were imitated in blue and white, and in the sec. XVI and XVII the miniature, linked to the style of Herat, but with great independent artists, such as Muḥammad Murād Samarqandi. The artistic production of the following centuries declined in an increasingly tired repetition of traditional motifs; however, the craft industry continued to be very lively with the production of ceramics, metals and above all the famous Buhara carpets. With the annexation to the USSR, Uzbekistan essentially entered the wider cultural context of that country, undergoing its various influences. The twenties and thirties of the twentieth century. they were in fact crucial for the birth of a true Uzbek artistic movement, even if stimulated by Russian leaders. Since the 1960s, however, the synthesis implemented by Uzbek artists between tradition, Western influences and Far Eastern suggestions has been more evident, especially in painting. Among the most relevant, V. Burmakin (b. 1938) and, more recently, B. Ismailov (b. 1973) and B. Makhkamov (b. 1958). The name of R. Suleimanov (b.1950) emerges in the sculpture. In more recent periods, the search for new artists has also extended to new expressive techniques, with the adoption of forms such as installations and performances.
