Sheki: Azerbaijan’s Silk Road city now a UNESCO World Heritage site

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Before Azerbaijan was famous for oil, it was a land of silk and spices.

At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, bordered by the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, it was an important thoroughfare on the Silk Road, the ancient web of trade routes linking East and West.

By the 19th century, Sheki, on the Silk Road path through northwest Azerbaijan, was an international center for silk production.

Today, it’s one of Azerbaijan’s most picturesque towns, filled with cobbled streets and medieval architecture: a fresh, bucolic retreat from the more arid south.

It’s largely been off most tourists’ radar, but that could be set to change: In July 2019, its historic center and Khan Palace were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Caravanserai roadside inns

High in the Caucasus Mountains, shielded from the world by forest-covered mountains, passing traders and their goods-laden animals would stop here on their way to Tbilisi or Baku and overnight at one of the town’s five caravanserai.

These roadside inns were once dotted all along the Silk Roads, and today’s travelers to Azerbaijan – there were a record 2.8 million international tourists in 2018 – can rest their head in an authentic 18th-century caravanserai, the Yukhari Karavansaray Hotel.

Sheki is a mountainous retreat in northern Azerbaijan.

A mini fortress halfway up M.F. Axundov Street in Sheki’s Old Town, entry to the hotel is through an imposing original wood doorway.

Inside is a twin-level arcade of arches around a peaceful central courtyard in which traders’ camels were once tied, but which is now dotted with trees and seating spots.

Karavansaray Hotel: The Yukhari Karavansaray Hotel in Sheki was built in the 18th century as a roadside inn -- or caravanserai -- for traders on Azerbaijan's ancient Silk Road routes.

Two levels: The traders would stay in the upper level while a hatch in their rooms would allow easy access to their goods in the level below.

Courtyard: Traders' camels and other animals were once kept in the central courtyard. Today it's a peaceful spot filled with trees and seating areas.

Security: For the first guests here in the 1700s, the single entrance was easily secured so that in the event of attack those inside could rest easy.

Rooms: The rooms have arched ceilings and original doors.

The simple life: Prices start at 30 Manats (around $18) per night.

Bedroom: The rooms have plenty of atmosphere, but facilities are very basic. It's a taste of the country's Soviet past as well as the 18th century.

Garden restaurant: You don't have to stay at the hotel to visit the caravanserai. The courtyard is open to tourists between noon and 7 p.m. and there's a public restaurant too.

Tea house: There's also a tea house where you can enjoy a traditional Azeri tea, straight from the samovar and served with sweet treats.

Alternatives: There are more luxury accommodation options in Sheki too, such as the Shaki Palace Hotel across the road.

A photo tour of the Sheki Caravanserai in Azerbaijan

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The guest rooms are on the first floor and while undeniably spartan – the furnishings and media facilities may well date back to the country’s Soviet area – with prices starting at just 30 Manats (about $18) a night, it’s a small price to pay for an authentic historical experience.

The rooms’ arched brickwork ceilings and small windows mean there’s no need for air conditioning in summer, though winters can reportedly get a little cold.

There are more luxurious accommodation options in town for those who choose to stay elsewhere but still pay a visit to the caravanserai.

Day trippers can explore the courtyard between noon and 7 p.m., but overnight guests have the place to themselves come morning and evening.

There’s a large garden restaurant out back as well as an atmospheric stone-walled tea house.

The Palace of Sheki Khans

Palace of Sheki Khans: The Palace of Sheki Khans in Sheki, Azerbaijan was the summer residence of the Sheki khanate. The Sheki khans ruled this corner of the Caucasus between 1743 and 1819.

18th century: The summer palace, richly decorated inside and out, was completed in 1897.

Interior: The two-story building was constructed using Russian wood, French strained glass, Ottoman ceramics and Iranian mirrorwork.

Shebeke: Shebeke is a traditional Azeri method of making stained-glass windows without using glue or nails.

Frescoes: The interior walls of all six rooms are covered entirely in frescoes.

The artists: The frescoes are signed by the artists Ali Kuli, Kurban Kuli and Mirza Jafar from Shemaha, Usta Gambar from Shusha, and Abbas Kuli, who may also have been the palace's architect.

Silk city: Sheki was once an international center of silk production and the palace was the town's top architectural jewel.

Floods: Old Sheki had been destroyed by floods in 1772 so the city was relocated further up the hill. The palace was a symbol of the city's renewed pride.

Russian invasion: The khanate was absorbed into the Russian empire by 1819 and the building was then used for local administration.

Complex: The summer residence was part of a larger palatial complex which included a winter palace and quarters for servants.

Geometric: Both floors have an identical layout of three rectangular rooms, and were accessed separately.

Ground floor: The ground floor was used for public functions. Clerks and petitioners worked here.

Upper floor: The upper floor, meanwhile, was for the use of the khan's family and their guests.

Tourist attraction: The palace is now one of the city's top tourist attractions. English-speaking tours are available on request.

Azerbaijan's colorful Palace of Sheki Khans

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A few steps up the hill is Sheki’s top tourist attraction, the summer palace of the Sheki Khans, who ruled this corner of the Caucasus between 1743 and 1819.

Built in the late 18th century, this two-story building has a breathtakingly ornate interior and exterior.

Russian wood, French strained glass, Ottoman ceramics and Iranian mirrorwork all went into the construction of this pleasingly picture-perfect and symmetrical masterpiece.

The facade is covered in large part by a mosaic of multicolored glass set in a wooden lattice, called a shebeke, constructed without nails or glue. Examples of shebeke artistry can be found throughout Sheki.

Inside, its six rooms are entirely covered with elaborate frescoes depicting flowers, fauna, battles and hunting scenes.

The Russian invasion of the early 19th century may have put an end to the khanate but the painstakingly crafted palace and the peaceful gardens beyond have survived intact to delight visitors for generations since.

English-speaking tours can be arranged in advance.

The Museum of Folk and Applied Arts has a small collection of historical artefacts.

As befits the cosmopolitan nature of this trading town, Sheki has a long history of religious diversity, with many churches and mosques in the region.

A few kilometers north of town, the Church of Kish – completed in the first century CE and used most recently as a Caucasian Albanian church – is one of the country’s oldest.

There are souvenir shops lining Sheki’s main streets selling ceramics, samovars and scarves made of the town’s signature product: silk.

Locals head to Aliahmed Sweets to buy their halva and other treats.

Piti, a chunky meat stew eaten with bread, is the local specialty, while halva – the sticky treat made from sugar and nuts – is perfected at Aliahmed Sweets.

Out of town, the roads that once served as Silk Road routes are still busy with traders.

While Soviet-born Zhiguli cars buzz by alongside more modern vehicles, roadside vendors sell tandir bread, where the dough is slapped straight onto the side of a clay oven, and qutab – light-as-air dough griddled with greens and seasoned with sumac.

Hungry travelers stop at the roadside to eat and drink freshly made tea at makeshift tables under shade-giving trees.

With Azerbaijan introducing new easy three-day visas in 2017, this path through the Caucasus is as lively as ever.

Yukhari Karavansaray Hotel, M.F. Axundov street 85, Sheki AZ5500, Azerbaijan; + 994 55 7555570

Palace of Sheki Khans, Sheki 0055, Azerbaijan; +994 55 619 75 88

Aliahmed Sweets, 122 Mirz? F?t?li Axundov kü??si, Sheki, Azerbaijan; +994 55 842 42 42