Sheki - Azerbaijan - life as it was in 18th and 19th Centuries

To get to the Georgian border, as we were travelling by car, we had to go through Lagish, Kish and Sheki, with Sheki being the overnight stop. Sheki is NW of Baku, approx. 300 kms. The road to Lalich was mountainous and the travel write up said village was pretty and lots of handicraft shops. We found the mountain road terrible, full of potholes and mud slides. There were no people in Lalich and all shops were shut. We left. It was a 20 km detour one way from man road and we had to go back the same way – 40 kms of agony and wasted time. I learnt that the travel agencies in these areas oversell various villages and locations and add useless items like “meal with local family to see how they live”. Beware, of these scamsters. 

Sheki is an old city as it dates from around the 6th C BC. It belongs to Caucasian Albania – not European Albania, but another kingdom that has lived in this area for more than a millennium. During the 1760s, floods wiped out the old settlement completely, and everybody had to gather up and relocate to a higher area. That new site proved ideal as it was sheltered by mountains, accessible down the trade routes, and out of reach of the rivers so they were never flooded again.

Our hotel in Sheki was called Sheki Palace and was meant to be four stars. I called it Shaky Place and gave it no stars ---it really was the worst hotel we were given by our travel agent. It is huge and in two buildings. I would rather write about Sheki and you read my review on Sheki Palace in TripAdvisor. 

The city of Sheki was the capital of its own khanate, a kind of semi-autonomous principality that existed for part of the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the buildings were constructed during this period. Khans were not only political figures but the patrons of arts and architecture, and that is why such a small city turned out to possess such marvellous buildings.

The centre of the town is pleasant and easily walkable. There is a street with a few old shops, a caravanserai opp. our hotel and a famous Baklava shop. It was full of people and the sweets were awesome.     

The Palace of Shaki Khans was a summer residence and remains one of the most visible landmarks of Shaki. Constructed in 1762 without a single nail , it is a beautiful monument.  The entry is through the fort gate. The tickets are reasonably priced. This palace features craftsmanship that modern society cannot recreate. The front is encrusted with shakework, which is simply a kind of stained glass that is bound together by wooden latticework that is so delicate it appears like a piece of jewellery. No photography is allowed inside. The guide said no glue has been used anywhere.

There is no square in the place that does not speak. The walls are painted in frescoes with hunting scenes, and there are also battles as well as geometrical images that can make your eyes weep if you stare long enough. The colours have remained intense almost after two hundred years due to the use of natural pigments and methods of painting, which were roughly lost in other regions. The whole ceiling is of inlaid wood.

The palace was not simply a residence – it was the administrative core of the whole khanate. The rooms were used to entertain foreign dignitaries as well as issues of law. The original carved wooden throne is still in the throne room, but sitting on it is prohibited. Local guides love to point out hidden details in the frescoes – hunting scenes that actually depict real historical events, geometric patterns that contain mathematical principles, and colour combinations that require importing pigments from as far away as India. The restoration work continues constantly, with craftsmen using traditional techniques and materials to maintain authenticity.

In 2019, the palace was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and this is both good and bad news. Good in the sense that it allows them to be preserved and have maintenance finances. Bad as that translates to an increased number of tour groups and increased ticket prices.

The city's central and main open city squares are dominated by two Soviet towers. Many public places and private houses in Shaki are decorated with shebeke, a wooden lattice of pieces of coloured glass, held together without glue or a single nail. The technique is complex and known only to a few artisans who pass their meticulous craft from generation to generation.

The bazaar in Sheki isn’t designed for tourists. People come here to buy actual necessities – vegetables, tools, fabric, household items. The tourist goods exist, but they’re mixed in with real commerce. Several workshops around the city still practice traditional crafts. Near the fort, we went to a market which was actually a long hall with rooms opp sides. Here in the passage were clothes shops. The rooms contained more important handicrafts.  Carpet weaving, silk production, metalwork, and wood carving continue much as they have for generations. Many artisans are happy to demonstrate their techniques.

The very first main craft workshop was of Haji Huseyn Mustafazade. He very kindly explained the whole process of his craft – cutting pieces of thin wood and even thinner glass into small pieces and then crafting them into totally awesome artifacts. No glue is used anywhere. The small 3”x3” square you see in the photos cost around Euro 50. The big pieces are totally eye catching. He has exhibited in many countries.

Sheki Caravanserai is worth seeing. The Upper and Lower Caravanserais are still standing, still functional, though now they serve Turkish coffee instead of hosting camel trains. These weren’t luxury hotels; they were practical business establishments where merchants could store goods, feed animals, and sleep safely. The architecture is functional but somehow beautiful. Thick stone walls, arched doorways, and courtyards are designed to maximize security and efficiency. Walking through these spaces, you can almost hear the negotiations, the arguments over prices, the languages mixing together. 

The architectural features tell us interesting details of medieval trade. There were stables on the ground floor capable of holding more than 300 horses and camels. At the same time, the upper stories were used as sleeping quarters and storage of valuable goods. Much emphasis was placed on security – there was only one entrance, the walls were thick, and the inside of it had courtyards that could be closed off so that they could be safe in case of an enemy attack.

After seeing the caravanserai, we drove to Kish to visit the first Albanian church,1st century AD, in Caucasus.. It is one of the oldest Christian places in the region, located about 15 kms from Sheki. It is not very large or impressive: but it  withstood invaders, religious transformations, and all the turmoil of the history of the Caucasians.

The present construction dates to the 12th century, although archaeology indicates that the site has been devoted to religion for almost two thousand years. The encircling cemetery is marked with inscriptions in different languages, which shows the variety of communities that  inhabited this region. New archaeological discoveries have found layers of building and rebuilding, indicating how the place responded to varying religious and political conditions. The basement houses the oldest Christian altar in the Caucasus area.

The church accommodated many Christian traditions during centuries of existence, such as the elderly Armenian, Georgian, and Albanian Orthodox people. It served as a grain storage facility during the Soviet era, and this ironically led to the maintenance of many elements in architecture that would otherwise not have remained. The surviving frescoes are only partial and important, demonstrating influences of Byzantine, Persian, and local styles of art. 

It was drizzling and chilly. We found three old ladies making naans so we all got one apiece and filled our stomachs. They also made various jams etc but we eventually bought three bottles from a supermarket just before leaving the country – they call them “murrabasi” which is close enough to the Gujerati “muarabo”. Delicious stuff. 

The surrounding village of Kish maintains some traditional practices and crafts, making the trip worthwhile beyond just the historical significance. The journey there takes you through beautiful countryside and small settlements that see few international visitors.

We enjoyed the visit to Sheki except for its totally miserable hotel. Seeing that wonderful palace and the workmanship of Haji Huseyn was memorable. So, onwards now to Georgia… little did we know how harrowing that international border crossing would be. Read my other blog for details. 

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