call intoSheki's craft shops
Once an important trade hub along the Silk Road, Sheki continues to exude the spirit of the past. On the historic trading street, named after legendary local writer Mirza Fatali Akhundzadeh, you can step into small boutiques to enter a staggering world of authentic craftsmanship.
Whether it be witnessing patterns being printed onto the colourful kelaghayi headscarves, traditionally worn by Azerbaijani women, or clothes and cushions being decorated with intricate floral designs using a technique known as tekelduz embroidery, Sheki has a host of different crafts to catch the interest of all.
Visitors can also meet talented artisans as they make pots, papags (a national hat), miniature caskets and national instruments, whose skills have been passed down over generations. In Sheki Fortress, a shebeke workshop displays spectacular mosaics as they are painstakingly composed from thousands of tiny pieces of stained glass, held together in wooden lattices of all shapes and sizes.
