We have been in Baku for a few days and this morning we pick up a rental car and leave Baku heading to Sheki. I’m the driver and although we do just fine, it’s a fairly challenging drive out of the city in full traffic! That said, we manage to move between lanes and move through the masses!! We drive for about an hour and a half and stop at Diri Baba Mausoleum which was built into the side of a cliff in 1402.
There’s only a couple of other people around and we can go inside the mausoleum and climb the narrow stairs to the second floor.
The mausoleum overlooks an old cemetery which has some very interesting grave stones. The tall ones are not unlike our Celtic crosses in some ways.
We stop for lunch close by, in a peculiar establishment where the young guy stares at us like we are from another planet!! After a shaky start as he has no English, we manage to order some food and are served in a private room (which is clearly a karaoke room!!). The dish of lamb chop, chevapi and bread, with a plate of herbs is fantastic and we are very happy as we get back on the road to Sheki.
Along the road there are cows roaming free – it’s insane. Unfortunately my navigator doesn’t take photos through windows so we have no proof, but as the driver, it’s something I won’t forget in a longtime!!
We arrive safely (thank God!) and check into our hotel “Old Sheki” and then head straight out to check out the town. We are very central and by a small river. This town was on the Silk Road and we visit the “KARVANSARAY”, where the traders who traveled this road would have stopped for food and a bed. It’s a very lovely building.
We head back to our hotel and have dinner in the outdoor restaurant which is considered one of the best in town. We have delicious plov (rice with lamb and greens) and beef with cherries.
The wine is fantastic – we’ve wanted to have the madrasa grape which is local and we really like it.
We have a small balcony overlooking the river (and the road) so we sit outside with a cup of tea and try some Sheki Halva that we picked up earlier. Halva is a type baklava and it’s big in Sheki.
Next morning we start with brekkie in the outdoor restaurant where we dined last night.
We are served an array of dishes and a giant basket of bread of course!
Time to explore Sheki. We start with the mosque which was built in the 18th century by the Sheki Khan and is UNESCO listed. We don’t go in but it’s very nice and quite understated from the outside.
Sheki is built on a hillside on the southern foothills of the Greater Caucuses. It’s only a short distance to Russia, which apparently you can see from the Sheki hills.
We climb up the hill to see the main reason why people come to this town, the Khan Palace. Also UNESCO listed, it was constructed in 1797 as the summer palace for the Sheki khans, the rulers of the town.
We arrive at the same time as a group on an Intrepid trip and we chat to the Georgian guide who’s name is Nina and she insists on us taking her number in case, as solo travellers, we need her assistance or she can give us recommendations. How lovely!
There are no photos allowed inside the palace which is a shame as inside is absolutely stunning. The restoration work has been well worth it and the paintings around the walls and stained glass is mesmerising.
On the inside, it looks like this… (not my photo!)
We continue walking around the fortress, enclosed by the old walls and enjoy the views of the Caucuses mountains.
We see the Khan family mosque also called the round temple.
Walking back into town, we admire other buildings and of course see plenty of Lada cars driving around.
Next we take the car for a spin to see the White Church! It’s in a small town called Kish and is one of the earliest Christian churches outside of Jerusalem. We admire it from outside and see a little of Kish before heading back.
Driving around the tiny, windy, gravel roads is so much fun – NOT!!!!
We drop the car off and take a walk down the hill to the newer part of town and after an hour or so I reckon it’s time for wine!! Nina the guide we met earlier recommended doing a wine tasting at Khan Wine House. We taste six various different wines and honestly we like all of them!
Back on our balcony before the sun sets, we have a glass of Pomegranate wine (which cost approx €3 in the local market) and a beer before dinner. It’s great sitting here watching the world go by… it’s especially funny seeing all the Ladas with their windows down blaring gangster rap music… honestly it seems to be a real thing here!!
We eventually head downstairs to the restaurant and we already know what we’re having – piti! Piti is a traditional dish, particularly popular in Sheki. It’s a slow cooked lamb and chickpea stew made in individual clay pots. The waiter (who by now is our pal) pours the soup into a bowl of croutons which we eat before he mashes the meat and serves to us after we’ve had the soup! We also have a giant portion of pickled vegetables which I’ve been getting better at eating. A nice local red wine finishes it off… fantastic!
Next morning we have another beautiful looking breakfast and it’s time to leave.
A shot of our absolutely delightful hotel before we set off for the Georgian border.
We drive less than two hours north west to drop off the car in the town of Balakan, near the Georgian border crossing. Again, lots of cows on the roads and cars overtaking at speed but the scenery is nice!! The rental car company don’t have an office so they tell us just to park it anywhere in town, take a video and send them the location!! Mad!!
Once we’ve left the car and confirmed they got our video, we take a taxi a short ten minutes or so to the border. We meet our first guard who takes a cursory look at our passports and sends us along the path to the passport control.
Once we show our passports, we’re stamped out and take a final look back to Azerbaijan – you have been fantastic!
odohertyelaine 