Hotel Yukhary – Karavansaray, Sheki

The city of Sheki is located 380 km to the west of Baku close to the Georgian border. Sheki is set in a picturesque mountain area rich in narrow gorges and green valleys, springs, purest rivers, water falls and mineral water springs framed by dense woods and alpine meadows. Not far from Sheki in one of the most beautiful and picturesque places of the country is the Markhal Resort. Archeological data testify that the city can be considered one of the oldest settlements in the Caucasus ; many finds on its territory are dated as old as 2,500 years.

Merchants and traders from the countries of the Great Silk Road used to gather there. Therefore, great attention was paid to the construction of caravansaries. In the 18th-19th centuries 5 big caravansaries were active in Sheki. Only two of them have survived. The Upper and the Lower built in the 18th century. Even then the craftsmen tried to provide worthy service to lodgers. Caravansaries were built with a view of all convenience and safety of merchants and their goods. In Sheki caravansariy merchants stored their goods in cellars, traded on the first floor and lived on the second.

The caravansaries were rather big: The Upper one was 6,000 sq.m. The Lower - 8,000 sq .m. Their height was about 14 m. Each one had more than 200 rooms. According to the tradition caravanserais had two and even four entrances. When closed, caravanserais turned into fortresses The Upper caravanserai today is used for its direct purpose - it is a hotel complex. Location: in a north-east part of Sheki city in a block "Yukhary Bash". The building of hotel is the restored inn of the end of XVIII – the beginning of XIX centuries, it is protected by the state as a historical-architectural monument.

The city can boast many historical and architectural places of interest , but its pride is the ancient majestic royal palace of Shekin khans erected in the 18 th century without a single nail (!) with magnificent wall paintings and tracery windows in the stone citadel. Very attractive are Gemsen-Geresen fortress (8-9 th centuries) , numerous caravanserais, house of Sheki Khans, Djuma Mosque (18th century), the Gileilin Mosque minaret (18th century), and medieval baths. Sheki is a major center of crafts. Here you can buy jewels and engravings by local craftsmen. Sheki has its own theatre, a historical museum, the house-museum of the Azerbaijan writer and philosopher M.F.Ahundov. Sheki was famous as the city of craftsmen and merchants.

1) Kervansaray Hotel - in the centre of the town - a real Kervansaray from medieval ages, still used for hosting, but today there are tourists rather than merchants. Cheap accommodation rates, but it turns everything to be paid when you arrive (bell boy, breakfast, et.c). Also the rooms are not well maintained seem to be serving merchants again. (Webforum) ______________ Food was difficult, apart from in Sheki. THE place to eat in Sheki is the restaurant of the Kervansaray Hotel (see below)...in summer it relocates to the garden, and is usually quite busy entertaining the local bigwigs. It isn't expensive for foreigners, but I imagine for the average Azeri, prices would be considered steep. All the basic ingredients of Azeri cooking are available...lule Kebab, chicken, cheese, salad, dolma, and manti ( a sort of small dumpling, similar to a mini Georgian khingkali, served in a clear broth). When important officials were eating there, far more items were available, but you won't get much say in the matter...they will ask, but you'll get what they've got! This is true of most restaurants outside Baku. Breakfast at the Kervansaray was great...omelettes, cheese, olives, tomatoes, butter, honey and as much bread as you can eat...plus never-ending tea, and sometimes good strong black coffee, a real luxury here! As for other restaurants, well I didn't see many. //virtualtourist.com