Sheki
Azerbaijan · 700 m
Description
Sheki (Şəki) lies on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus where the silk road crossed the mountains, and its historic centre went on the UNESCO list in 2019 for a townscape of tiled roofs, high garden walls and domed brick caravanserais still working as hotels. The Khan's Palace of 1797 is the piece everyone comes for, a small summer residence whose entire front is shebeke, a lattice of thousands of hand-cut coloured glass pieces fitted into carved wood with no glue and no nails, and whose interior is painted floor to ceiling.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 3 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: May – October
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Sheki Khan's Palace and its shebeke windows
- Historic centre of Sheki (UNESCO World Heritage)
- Upper and Lower Caravanserai
- Shebeke workshops and the glass lattice craft
- Sheki halva and the sweet shops
- Sheki Fortress walls
- Piti lamb stew in the clay pot
- Kish and its round Albanian church(Day trip)
- Silk weaving and the Sheki kelaghayi scarves
- Sheki Museum of History and the Albanian antiquities
- Greater Caucasus foothill walks above the town