Given that Sheki was once located on the Great Silk Road, it is not surprising that this is our capital of silk and handicrafts. On the historic trading street, named after legendary local writer Mirza Fatali Akhundov, step into small boutiques and absorb the authentic craftmanship: colourful kelaghayi headscarves, worn by our women for centuries, and intricate floral patterns of ‘tekelduz’ embroidery. Meet talented artisans making pots, papags (a national hat), caskets and national instruments whose skills have been passed down from generation to generation. Resting under the shade of 300-year-old plane trees at the top of Sheki, the lavishly decorated Palace of Sheki Khans is our most exquisite architectural monument from the khanate period. Just five kilometres from Sheki, travel to the picturesque village of Kish to explore one of our monuments to Caucasian Albania – the ancient state that existed here from the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD.