Sheki

Sheki sits where the Greater Caucasus meets the plain, and it made its fortune on silk. The old town of brick and river stone, with its steep lanes and tiled roofs, is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The Palace of the Sheki Khans, finished in 1797, is the reason most people come. Its façade and interiors are filled with shebeke — stained-glass lattices assembled from thousands of pieces of wood and coloured glass without a single nail or drop of glue. A handful of families still make them in workshops nearby.

Two caravanserais survive from the trading era, one still operating as a hotel around its courtyard. The town is also known across the Caucasus for its layered halva and for piti, a mutton and chickpea stew baked and served in individual clay pots.