call intoSheki's craft shops
Once an important trade hub along the Silk Road, Sheki continues to exude a spirit of the past. On the historic trading street named after legendary local writer Mirza Fatali Akhundzade, step into small boutiques and admire the authentic craftsmanship, whether it be witnessing patterns being printed onto the colourful kelaghayi headscarves traditionally worn by Azerbaijani women or decorating clothes and cushions with intricate floral designs using a technique known as takalduz embroidery. Meet talented artisans making pots, papags (a national hat), miniature caskets and national instruments whose skills have been passed down through generations. In the Sheki Fortress, call into the shebeke workshop to see spectacular mosaics being painstakingly composed of thousands of tiny pieces of stained glass held together in wooden lattices of all shapes and sizes.
