experience the Silk Road in Sheki

Take a break from an itinerary packed with sightseeing and spend a morning or afternoon simply wandering the cobbled streets of Sheki’s historic old town, an area that was recently added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Soak up the bucolic atmosphere, admire the intricate brickwork and hunt for some historical relics. This upper part of the city is made up of 19th-century merchant housing with distinctive gabled roofs, mosques and hammams, reflecting Sheki’s long history as a former hub of the silk trade. You can visit house museums to local literary heroes Mirza Fatali Akhundzade and Bakhtiyar Vahabzade and call into the Sheki Khans’ House. For a Quintessential Silk Road experience in Sheki, stop for tea and sweets or better still spend a night at Karvansaray, an authentic 18th-century caravanserai-turned-hotel.