Understand
Few foreigners visit Azerbaijan beyond the capital city, Baku. In so doing, they overlook a true gem in the form of Sheki. The small city of Sheki has a whole lot to offer by way of historic attractions; in particular, the Palace of the Sheki Khans Khansarai is a magnificent work of Islamic architecture. Its setting is stunning; it lies in the rolling, thickly forested foothills, which spread out to the south, while to the immediate north are the dramatic, snow-capped peaks of the Greater Caucasus. The possibilities for treks into the unspoilt mountain landscapes are endless, and are alone a great reason to visit the city. But more than anything, the relaxed pace of life evident in Sheki's central market and tea houses makes the city a welcome respite from whatever cares you may have.
A relatively small city, Sheki has a population of about 63,000. It is situated in northern Azerbaijan on the southern part of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, 325 km 201 mi from Baku and not far from the Georgian border. Sheki is located at an altitude of 500 m 1,640 ft.
History
Throughout its history, Sheki was swung between independence and foreign domination. In its earlier centuries, Sheki was the seat of an Albanian kingdom, which was invaded repeatedly by the Persian, Roman, Parthian, Arab, Mongolian, and other empires. In the past millennium, Sheki fell under the influence and often the direct rule of Persia or the Shirvanshahs of Baku. Shortly after the 18th century collapse of the Safavid Empire, Sheki became the capital of the independent Sheki Khanate, during which the Khansarai was built. But Sheki's independence did not last long; it was absorbed in the early 19th century by an expansionist Russian Empire. Due to Sheki's rather tumultuous political history in a tumultuous region, the majority of Sheki's preserved historic and architectural monuments date from only the 16th-19th centuries.