The dutar has a pear-shaped body and a long, slim neck. The body is carved out of mulberry wood, which is light and resonant. The strings are usually made of silk - the same silk that travelled the Silk Road - so the dutar is, in a small way, made of the road itself.
Players pluck and strum the two strings with their fingers, not a pick. Even though there are only two strings, an experienced dutar player can make a huge range of sounds - happy, sad, fast, slow. Some traditional songs go on for half an hour, telling a long story with only the dutar and a singing voice.
Children in Uzbekistan often learn the dutar at music school. It takes a long time to be good - the fingertips get a bit sore at first - but most learners say it is a calming instrument to play. You can sit cross-legged on a cushion, hold the dutar lightly across your lap, and let the music flow.
The dutar is part of a wider Central Asian musical tradition called Shashmaqam, which means 'the six maqams' or 'the six modes'. Shashmaqam is a kind of classical music with old, careful patterns. UNESCO has added it to its list of important world traditions, because it has been kept alive for hundreds of years.