travel back to ancient Shamkir

Shamkir has a rich history long predating the German period. To discover it, step inside the local History and Ethnography Museum located at the back of the Lutheran church that charts the city’s development, beginning with the Persian Achaemenid Empire (550BC). Better still, head 10 kilometres east of the city to investigate the ruins of medieval Shamkir, located north of the village of Muktariyat on the left bank of the Shamkirchay river. Here, a fortress and citadel thrived on the Silk Road between the 8th and 13th centuries, when it was sacked by the Mongols and never fully recovered. Excavations beginning in 2006 have made it possible to see significant chunks of a fortress called Naringala, plus the remnants of streets and buildings considered rare examples of the Arran architectural school.