Tajik craftspeople are participating in the 16th traditional Silk and Spices Festival that kicked off in Bukhara, Uzbekistan today.

According to Asia – Plus News Agency, the Tajik delegation consists of 33 people, including craftspeople, designers and journalists from Dushanbe, Kulob and Khujand.

Craftspeople from Afghanistan, China, Iran, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are also participating in the festival. Twenty-five master classes will be organized on the sidelines of the festival.

Its goal is to preserve the existing cultural heritage with all its specific features and level of artistic skill, as well as to support folk crafts such as gold embroidery, hand weaving, carving, carpet weaving, building craftsmanship, fine arts.

The program of the festival includes performances of folklore ensembles from the regions of the country, national games and amusements, master classes, tasting of Uzbek pilaf at the event «Palov Sayli», fashion show from young designers of Uzbekistan.

The atmosphere of the eastern fairy tale will always recreate the colorful procession that will bring the guests of the festival thousands of years ago, when caravans loaded with silk and spices passed from China to Europe, passing through mountain passes and lifeless deserts and stopped in blossoming oases.

For anyone interested master classes on pottery, blacksmithing, gold embroidery, carpet weaving, coin aging and much more will be held.

The organizers of the event will be the Khokimiyat of Bukhara region, the Bukhara regional branch of the State Committee for Tourism and the association of artisans «Hunarmand».