Azerbaijan
The Şəki Khans' little-publicised 'other' palace is a slightly smaller, older version of the Xan Sarayı set in its own rose garden. While five of the six rooms are essentially plain, the sixth has a stunning series of original 1765 murals depicting scenes from Nizami classics.
The English-speaking guide, Rumella, lives next door. She and her family protected the monument for years, long before it was restored.
0.38 MILES
This ornate 1762 palace building features vivid murals and dazzling coloured light streaming through şəbəkə (stained-glass windows), making it Şəki’s…
3.21 MILES
The brilliantly renovated round-towered 'temple' in pretty Kiş village has been lovingly converted into a very well-presented trilingual museum. It’s the…
19.64 MILES
Two beautiful high-altitude valleys meet at charming little İlisu. Amazingly this diminutive village of photogenic old homes was once the capital of a…
3.05 MILES
High above the city, a plateau of summer pastures known as Xan Yaylağı offers truly superb viewpoints back over the valley and northwards towards high…
12.03 MILES
This remarkable rural site comprises over a dozen close-packed grave excavations from the 2nd to 7th centuries BC, presented underground in the states…
0.19 MILES
Even if you don’t stay here, do peep inside this historic caravanserai whose twin-level arcade of sturdy arches enclose a sizeable central courtyard…
0.31 MILES
The şəbəkə (stained-glass windows) featured at Xan Sarayı are laboriously made by slotting together hundreds of hand-carved wooden pieces to create…
20.7 MILES
This engrossing little museum is wonderfully old-fashioned and has very little in English, but photos show regional historical places, there's a mockup of…
0.19 MILES
Even if you don’t stay here, do peep inside this historic caravanserai whose twin-level arcade of sturdy arches enclose a sizeable central courtyard…
0.21 MILES
This small, 19th-century mosque is a typical brick structure that fits harmoniously with the architecture of MF Axundzadə pr, looking especially…
0.31 MILES
The şəbəkə (stained-glass windows) featured at Xan Sarayı are laboriously made by slotting together hundreds of hand-carved wooden pieces to create…
0.34 MILES
A coven of museum ladies beckon unsuspecting tourists into this unusual building, a circular former church. A sign claims it dates from the 7th century or…
0.38 MILES
This ornate 1762 palace building features vivid murals and dazzling coloured light streaming through şəbəkə (stained-glass windows), making it Şəki’s…
0.39 MILES
Raised on a hillside high above the city, the WWII memorial is a vertical twist of concrete scroll fronted by a mourning woman with her head between her…
0.46 MILES
Şәki's foremost mosque dates from the 18th century and sports a standalone 28m brick minaret with a metal tulip-shaped point.
0.57 MILES
There's nothing historic about this curious castle-like folly, an intriguing landmark on the ridge above town. It was designed to be a hotel but so poorly…