A profession is an occupation founded upon specialized

Culture and history.
The culture of Uzbekistan has a wide mix of ethnic groups and cultures, with the Uzbeks being the majority group. In 1995, about 71% of Uzbekistan's population was Uzbek. The chief minority groups were Russians(8.4%), Tajiks (officially 5%, but believed to be much higher), Kazaks (4.1%), Tatars (2.4%), and Karakalpaks(2.1%), and other minority groups include Armenians and Koryo-saram. It is said however that the number of non-indigenous people living in Uzbekistan is decreasing as Russians and other minority groups slowly leave and Uzbeks return from other parts of the former Soviet Union.
Cultural heritage sites in Uzbekistan inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List include:

• 
  Historic Centre of Bukhara (1993)
  
• 
  Historic Centre of Shakhrisyabz (2000)
  
• 
  Ichan Kala (1990)
  
• 
  Samarkand – Crossroads of Cultures (2001)
  

Religion[edit]

Mosque of Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Main article: Religion in Uzbekistan
When Uzbekistan gained independence in 1991 it was widely believed that Muslim fundamentalism would spread across the region. The expectation was that an Islamic country long denied freedom of religious practice would undergo a very rapid increase in the expression of its dominant faith. As of 1994 about half of Uzbeks were said to belong to Islam, though in an official survey few of that number had any real knowledge of the religion or knew how to practice it. However Islam is increasing in the region.
A parandja, a robe worn by women until it was banned in 1927. This example is made of velvet, silk threads and handmade embroidery. Displayed at the Museum of Applied Arts in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Education[edit]
Main article: Education in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan has a high literacy rate with about 88% of adults above the age of 15 being able to read and write. However with only 76% of the under 15 population currently enrolled in education this figure may drop in the future. Uzbekistan has encountered severe budgeting shortfalls in its education program. The education law of 1992 began the process of theoretical reform, but the physical base has deteriorated, and curriculum revision has been slow.
Traditions[edit]
Uzbeks celebrate the New Year in a celebration called Yangi Yil"'. They decorate a Christmas tree, even though they don't celebrateChristmas, and give each other gifts. They sing and listen to traditional Uzbek music while having dinner, and after dinner, a man dressed as Santa and Father Time arrive and continue the celebration. At midnight, they sing the Uzbek National Anthem while standing next to the tree, and continue celebrating.^[1]
Cuisine[edit]
Main article: Uzbek cuisine
See also: Soviet cuisine


Palov, the national dish in Uzbekistan


Tandir Kabob - Mutton prepared in the tandir oven
Uzbek cuisine is influenced by local agriculture, as in most nations. There is a great deal of grain farming in Uzbekistan, so breadsand noodles are of importance, and Uzbek cuisine has been characterized as "noodle-rich". Mutton is a popular variety of meat due to the abundance of sheep in the country and it is part of various Uzbek dishes.

MUSEUMS
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects ofscientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary.[1] Most large museums are located in major cities throughout the world and more local ones exist in smaller cities, towns and even the countryside. The continuing acceleration in the digitization of information, combined with the increasing capacity of digital information storage, is causing the traditional model of museums (i.e. as static “collections of collections” of three-dimensional specimens and artifacts) to expand to include virtual exhibits and high-resolution images of their collections for perusal, study, and exploration from any place with Internet connectivity.
HISTORY
The museums of ancient times, such as the Musaeum of Alexandria, would be equivalent to a modern graduate institute.
Early museums began as the private collections of wealthy individuals, families or institutions of art and rare or curious natural objects and artifacts. These were often displayed in so-called wonder rooms or cabinets of curiosities. Public access was often possible for the "respectable", especially to private art collections, but at the whim of the owner and his staff. The oldest such museum in evidence was Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum, dating from c. 530 BC and devoted to Mesopotamian antiquities; it apparently had sufficient traffic as to warrantlabels for the ordered collection.The oldest public museums in the world opened in Rome during the Renaissance. However, many significant museums in the world were not founded until the 18th century and the Age of Enlightenment:the Capitoline Museums, the oldest public collection of art in the world, began in 1471 when Pope Sixtus IV donated a group of important ancient sculptures to the people of Rome.
the Vatican Museums, the second oldest museum in the world, traces its origins to the public displayed sculptural collection begun in 1506 by Pope Julius II
the Amerbach Cabinet, originally a private collection, was bought by the university and city of Basel in 1661 and opened to the public in 1671.
the Royal Armouries in the Tower of London is the oldest museum in the United Kingdom. It opened to the public in 1660, though there had been paying privileged visitors to the armouries displays from 1592. Today the museum has three sites including its new headquarters in Leeds.[8]
the Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'archéologie in Besançon was established in 1694 afterJean-Baptiste Boisot, an abbot, gave his personal collection to the Benedictines of the city in order to create a museum open to the public two days every week.[9]
the Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg was founded in 1717 in Kikin Hall and officially opened to the public in 1727 in the Old St. Petersburg Academy of Science Building
the British Museum in London, was founded in 1753 and opened to the public in 1759.[10] Sir Hans Sloane's personal collection of curios provided the initial foundation for the British Museum's collection.[10]
the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, which had been open to visitors on request since the 16th century, was officially opened to the public 1765[citation needed]
the Hermitage Museum was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been open to the public since 1852.
the Belvedere Palace of the Habsburg monarchs in Vienna opened with a collection of art in 1781[citation needed]
Louvre in Paris France. The Mona Lisa Painting by Leonardo Da Vinci resides in the Louvre.
The Charleston Museum was established in 1773 thereby making it the first American museum. It did not open to the public until 1824.
These "public" museums, however, were often accessible only by the middle and upper classes. It could be difficult to gain entrance. In London for example, prospective visitors to the British Museum had to apply in writing for admission. Even by 1800 it was possible to have to wait two weeks for an admission ticket.[citation needed] Visitors in small groups were limited to stays of two hours.[citation needed] In Victorian times in England it became popular for museums to be open on a Sunday afternoon (the only such facility allowed to do so) to enable the opportunity for "self improvement" of the other - working - classes.[citation needed] The Ashmolean museum, however, founded in 1677 from the personal collection of Elias Ashmole, was set up in the University of Oxford to be open to the public and is considered by some to be the first modern public museum.[12]
In France, the first public museum was the Louvre Museum inParis,[citation needed] opened in 1793 during the French Revolution, which enabled for the first time free access to the former French royal collections for people of all stations and status. The fabulous art treasures collected by the French monarchy over centuries were accessible to the public three days each "décade" (the 10-day unit which had replaced the week in the French Republican Calendar). The Conservatoire du muséum national des Arts (National Museum of Arts's Conservatory) was charged with organizing the Louvre as a national public museum and the centerpiece of a planned national museum system. As Napoléon I conquered the great cities of Europe, confiscating art objects as he went, the collections grew and the organizational task became more and more complicated. After Napoleon was defeated in 1815, many of the treasures he had amassed were gradually returned to their owners (and many were not). His plan was never fully realized, but his concept of a museum as an agent of nationalistic fervor had a profound influence throughout Europe.
American museums eventually joined European museums as the world's leading centers for the production of new knowledge in their fields of interest. A period of intense museum building, in both an intellectual and physical sense was realized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (this is often called "The Museum Period" or "The Museum Age"). While many American museums, both Natural History museums and Art museums alike, were founded with the intention of focusing on the scientific discoveries and artistic developments in North America, many moved to emulate their European counterparts in certain ways (including the development of Classical collections from ancient Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia and Rome). Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concept of liberal government, Tony Bennett has suggested the development of more modern 19th century museums was part of new strategies by Western governments to produce a “citizenry” that, rather than be directed by coercive or external forces, monitored and regulated its own conduct. To incorporate the masses in this strategy, the private space of “museums” that previously had been restricted and socially exclusive were made “public.” As such, objects and artifacts, particularly those related to high culture, became instruments for these “new tasks of social management.”[13] Universities became the primary centers for innovative research in the United States well before the start of theSecond World War. Nevertheless, museums to this day contribute new knowledge to their fields and continue to build collections that are useful for both research and display.