While a trip to Azerbaijan often begins and ends in Baku, there’s plenty more to uncover for those looking to venture further than its bustling and cosmopolitan capital. Flanked by the Caspian Sea and Caucasus Mountains, the country’s topography is wildly diverse, flitting between sandy beach to snowy peak, while its history will cast you back in time, to the beguiling bygone era of the legendary Silk Road.
If you’re up for an adventure, point your compass towards Sheki, a charming, ancient city in northwest Azerbaijan. An important stop on the Silk Road, the city still whispers the secrets of its trading times in the Middle Ages, whilst also proudly wearing an inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List as of 2019. Known for its architecture, crafts, caravanserais, cobblestones and colourful sweet shops, Sheki’s kaleidoscope of experiences will steal your heart.
Just a five-hour drive (or seven-hour train journey) from Baku, Sheki makes for a perfect three-day excursion from the capital. Start exploring in the historic centre of the city, at its centrepiece the Sheki Fortress. The former headquarters of the Sheki Khanate, amidst its centuries-old walls you’ll find the colourful Sheki Khan’s Palace – a lavishly-decorated 18th-century mansion fronted by 500-year-old plane trees – the Museum of History, Ethnography and Local Lore, and spectacular mosaics at Shebeke Workshop, a true feast for the eyes. Sheki’s cobblestone streets will also weave you through the city’s distinctive collection of houses, and its old hammams and mosques to its caravanserais, ancient roadside inns built for merchants to rest and revive themselves on their journey along the Silk Road.
To learn more about the city’s trading past, wander along Sheki’s historic trading street named after legendary local writer Mirza Fatali Akhundzade, and call into one of the myriad craft shops. Here you can witness patterns being printed onto the colourful kelaghayi headscarves traditionally worn by Azerbaijani women, and clothes and cushions being decorated with intricate floral designs using a technique called takalduz embroidery. You can also meet some of Sheki’s artisans, whose hands make light work of piti dopusu (a clay pot used to serve Azerbaijan’s national dish), papags (a national hat) and miniature caskets using skills which have been passed down through generations.
Rich with clean air and nature, one unique way to experience the mountains of Sheki is on horseback. You’ll start your equine adventure near the historic village of Kish, that can take you to different destinations with scenic views wherever you look. Before crisscrossing mountains, you’ll witness the beauty of location attractions, such as Gelersen-Goresen Fortress, Sheki Khan’s Palace, Khan’s Plateau, Gaynar waterfall and Bash Kungut village. Or, for those who prefer two legs rather than four, you can strap on your hiking boots to trek the verdant forested route from Kurmuk to Gashgachay for an easy stroll through nature.
You’ll deserve a reward after all this exertion and luckily Sheki has something up its culinary sleeve for you. To eat like a local, order piti stew at Mustafa Bey, a plate of divinely sweet and sticky Sheki halva at Aliahmad Shirniyat, and khangal noodles at Buta restaurant. To wash it all down, you can sip tea at one of the many chaykhana (tea houses) within the New Bazaar, or evening cocktails at Buta Bar in Sheki Saray Hotel. If you want to take a slice of Sheki home with you (figuratively and literally), you can join a culinary masterclass, learning how to make dolma or halva with your own hands, allowing you take home more than just your memories.
