Sheki, Azerbaijan

Tradiing iron wheels for rubber tyres our bus driver apologises for the ‘serpentine’ (bendy) road to Sheki. However, even this secondary road is being re-engineered with viaducts and tunnels, courtesy of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Our snake route starts in Baku’s desert and progresses uphill. Green hills appear along with productive wheat fields and multiple vineyards (regional specialty = red wine). A few kms higher and we reach orchards; trees laden with ripe apples, pears, quinces, persimmons, walnuts and hazelnuts. The nuts are exported.
On reaching Sheki, in the southern part of the Caucasus Mountain range, the air is fresh and cool. The ruling Khans must have thought so too as in 1762 Shaki Khan built his summer palace here (today a UNESCO World Heritage Site). The beautiful palace was built without a single nail. The windows are shebeke, a wooden lattice of pieces of coloured Murano glass, again with no glue or nails. The inner walls of the palace are covered in beautiful botanical frescos.
No photography allowed inside the palace, but I wagered with life imprisonment and took a single snap. Kathryn will know why :).
Sheki is full of lovely stone buildings and a caravanserai (a safe Silk Road stopover).
Plus, the penguin did some swimming alone in the pool!!Read more