Urgut a town that lies 40 km away from Samarkand on the Pendjikent road is one of the most ancient settlements in the territory of Uzbekistan. From a hill called Tipkhona, we were observing how the town was waking up. Solidly built houses and streets buried in verdure looked festively and cheerfully. From here, the town resembled an anthill warmed by the vernal sunshine. Navruz has at all times been celebrated here according to the canons of the ancient holiday. So is it being celebrated now; since early in the morning the people from the nearby villages have been gathering here. At break of day, a cavalry flew at full speed through the town, heralding the approach of spring Navruz. After that the people's favorite holiday flowed out onto streets and squares of Urgut. In the kaleidoscope of national games and athletic competitions, a kurash wrestling tournament alternated with a competition of farceurs, after a tug of war there was a tightrope-dancers' performance. These are indispensable attributes of the national festival. In the square there appeared a delicately pretty girl personifying a snowdrop. She, indeed, resembled a flower that had barely broken through the snow. Amid the bright colorfulness of the Navruz holiday she seemed so fragile, vulnerable. Urgutians formed a dense circle around her as if they wanted to warm this sprout of new life. We could hardly keep up with the events in order not to miss the most interesting. In the central square we saw an ancient rite "kelin kurish" a festival of young daughters-in-law, their special introduction to the neighborhood. The daughters-in-law were extraordinarily pretty; there were about 40 of them. And the local people's opinion about the unrivalled beauty of the Urgut girls did not sound as exaggeration at all. The acme of the "kelin kurish" is making a bow to the people. Its rules are strictly regulated. This is an art that young daughters-in-law learn under supervision of the elder daughters-in-law. The bow should not be very deep and, according to the existing rules of good form, it demonstrates respect and courtesy towards the neighbors. And they are the ones who evaluate whose bow was more graceful and more respectful. They say here that the principal adornment of a woman is virtuous dignity and modesty. That is why the dazzling beauties looked very solemn. We were told that a smile would be taken as a sign of levity. The young women were in brightly colored chachvans covered with Urgut national patterns. Refined tillya-kosh (crowns), making each of them look like an empress, were decorated with multi-colored feathers. According to an eastern tradition, a bird having sat on a man's head brings him happiness. At a bow, each daughter-in-laws slightly covered her face with shawls of amazing beauty. Such shawls are hereditable and handed down in families; they are prepared from a daughter's childhood as an important part of her dowry specially for "kelin kurish". It was a real parade of grace and refinement invariably accompanying Navruz in this region. No less exciting is cock-fighting. That is an ancient and favorite entertainment of Urgutians. The tournaments of cocks have been a real adornment of Navruz from time immemorial; they made it even more attractive. At the stadium where it was held, there were about 400 spectators. tillya-kosh (crowns), making each of them look like an empress, were decorated with multi-colored feathers. According to an eastern tradition, a bird having sat on a man's head brings him happiness. At a bow, each daughter-in-laws slightly covered her face with shawls of amazing beauty. Such shawls are hereditable and handed down in families; they are prepared from a daughter's childhood as an important part of her dowry specially for "kelin kurish". It was a real parade of grace and refinement invariably accompanying Navruz in this region. No less exciting is cock-fighting. That is an ancient and favorite This purely eastern show always brings excitement, fun, and holiday sensations. For the fighting, special breeds of cocks are used. It is amusing to see how on seeing each other they start to burn. They contrive to jump up high trying to peck each other hard and kick the opponent with their spurs. Frequently such impact, equivalent to a knockout, for some time knocks out the enemy. Then their owners try to bring them into life, revive them with water, let them to wet their throats. In the day of Navruz, on one of the streets of the city there appears a real town of craftsmen. Urgut has long been glorified by its ceramics and embroidery. We could not take our eyes off the lyagans, jugs, hums, childrens' toys. Certainly, we just could not miss visiting the sycamore grove where the national festival was going on as well. This wonderful place was described by the researcher and geographer P. P. Semyonov-Tienshanskiy. Each tree here is an ancient monument supplied with a tablet on which its age and size are written. The sun had already set, but the holiday was on in Urgut houses and yards. And we did not want this day to end. So much goodness, meaning, pleasure, wisdom there is in this holiday that fills the soul with pleasant warmth.