«Ancient cities of Azerbaijan»

09:00
Breakfast at the hotel

09:00-14:00
Excursion program in the city of Sheki :
Inspection of the historical and architectural complex "Yukhary Karavansaray"
(XVIII-XIX centuries), acquaintance with the work of local artisans and craftsmen, enjoying panorama of the city from the mountainous part, inspection of the Omar Efendi Mosque (XIX century), the fortress wall and tower of the medieval city (XVIII-XIX centuries), the Palace of the Sheki Khans (XVIII century), the Round Albanian Christian Church with a museum of folk art (IX-XVI centuries), acquaintance with the exposition of the local history museum.
Sights of Sheki and its surroundings
1. Palace of Sheki Khans
This small but very beautiful two-story palace was built in 1762, modeled after the summer palaces of the Persian rulers.
The layout of both floors of the palace is identical: in the center there are spacious halls with a niche, and on both sides of them there are small side rooms separated by corridors. The building is notable for its multicolored rays of light pouring through the stained-glass shebeke windows and wall paintings - for example, in the central hall of the second floor you will find scenes of the battle of Haji Celebi with the Persian ruler Nadir Shah in 1743, complemented by images of swords, guns and other military paraphernalia. In addition to the battle scenes, the paintings on the second floor consist of very realistic scenes of the Shah's hunt.
The main (southern) facade of the palace is also very interesting: a significant part of it is made up of wooden shebeke windows with colored stained glass, made by hand, without glue or nails. In addition to the shebeke, the facade is decorated with bright paintings - among them, one can highlight the panels located along the edges, depicting the sacred tree of life and peacocks. The interfloor ceilings are decorated with brickwork with a beautiful geometric pattern.
In front of the main façade there is a small pond, a gazebo, flower beds and two plane trees that are over 500 years old. According to some researchers, it is thanks to these 35-meter trees and their abundant shade that the palace interiors have been so well preserved.
The palace of the Sheki Khans is surrounded by the walls of the Nukhin fortress - according to surviving data, it was built in 1765, before the palace. The total length of its powerful walls is about 1.3 km, the thickness reaches 2 meters, the height of the walls of the southern side is 8 meters, the northern - about 4 meters.
2. Shebeke workshop
The stained glass shebeke windows that adorn nowadays the Palace of the Sheki Khans were once handcrafted by joining together hundreds of carefully fitted pieces of wood.
In this cozy family workshop you can watch how it is done and, if you wish, try to make your own shebeke window.
3. The Round Church
A little to the south of the fence of the khan's palace there is an unusual round building - during the times of the legendary Albanian kingdom it was a church, afterwards it became the khan's home mosque. After the annexation of the Sheki Khanate to Russia, a Russian garrison was stationed in the fortress - and the former mosque became its Orthodox church.
The old building now houses the Sheki Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts.

4. Former barracks
Nowadays, the building that once housed the barracks of the Russian garrison of Sheki houses a good market, where various souvenirs and products of local folk craftsmen are sold at reasonable prices.

5. House-museum of M.F. Akhundov (Akhund-zade)
This oldest memorial museum in Azerbaijan was founded in 1940. It consists of two buildings: the actual house from the early 20th century where this prominent Azerbaijani writer and playwright was born and raised, and a room where a large collection of items related to his life and work is exhibited.

6. Caravanserais of Yukhari-Bash
The caravanserais of Sheki date back to the 17th-19th centuries and are the largest in Transcaucasia, which once again confirms the special trading status of the city. They are located below the fortress: the upper caravanserai is on the corner of M. Akhund-zade and Fatali Khan Khoysky streets (Akhund-zade Street, 185), and the lower one is a little further down the street.
Only the Upper (small) caravanserai with an area of 6,000 m2 is open to tourist visits. The building consists of three floors, the main facade of which overlooks the Gurdzhanachay River (opposite there is a stone bridge of the 19th century). The basements and the first floor were usually used as a warehouse and trading premises, and the two upper floors housed rooms for merchants and travelers.
7. House of Shekihanovs
This small palace from the 18th century was the residential home of the relatives of the Sheki khans and is a smaller copy of the khan’s palace – the same rectangular building with two floors and six rooms. The facade of the Shekikhanovs' house is noticeably more modest compared to the palace, but the interiors are decorated from top to bottom with lush paintings and shebeke windows made of Venetian glass. The wall and ceiling paintings feature scenes from Nizami's poems and various mythological characters; the hall on the first floor is decorated with a luxurious fireplace.
8. Khan's Mosque
Khans and their relatives were buried near this mosque, located on Fatali Khan Khoysky Street - several tombstones with skillful carvings have been preserved. The brick building with a low minaret looks rather ascetic and is decorated only with an external arched gallery.
9. Omar Efendi Mosque
This small mosque is located near the Lower Caravanserai and is notable for its patterned brick façade with semicircular window arches and cornice.
10. Juma Mosque
The minaret of this mosque is the highest in Sheki - 30 meters. It is located at the intersection of Akhund-zade and 20 January streets.
11. Village Kish
This ancient large village is located at an altitude of about 1000 meters above sea level at the foot of Mount Tat, 5 kilometers north of Sheki.
According to scientists, as early as the 4th millennium BC, there was a large pagan sanctuary here: the word "kish" in Farsi means "place of worship". According to legend, it was in Kish in the 1st century AD that the Apostle Elisha, a disciple of the Apostle Thaddeus, came and erected the first Christian altar in the Caucasus.
The village is notable for its well-preserved Albanian church from the 12th century:
The church now is an archaeological museum, where you can learn more about the mysterious Caucasian Albania, a Christian state that once occupied a significant part of modern Azerbaijan. The excavations of the ancient church and restoration work were financed by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry – in 2000, the famous Norwegian traveler Thor Heyerdahl even visited Kish. In memory of that visit, a bust of the famous Norwegian was installed near the ticket office of the archaeological museum.

14:00
Lunch at a national restaurant.

15:30
Return to the hotel. Free time to buy sweets and souvenirs.

19:00
Dinner at a national restaurant.

21:00
Return to the hotel.

09:00
Breakfast at the hotel

10:00
Departure from Sheki to Ganja (near 140 km)

12:00
Excursion program in the city of Ganja:
- inspection of the historical and architectural complex in the city center
"Shah Abbas Meschedi"
- a mosque with two minarets (XVI-XVIII centuries), Madrasah / Muslim educational institution / and an old large hotel / XIX century../, the mausoleum of the last ruler of Ganja (Javad Khan) / XIX-XX centuries /, the medieval bath "Chokek Hamam" and other historical and architectural structures.;
- a walk along the central square of the city with a tour of the fountains in the park "Sardar Baghi" ;
- a visit to the Christian Orthodox Church "Alexander Nevsky" / XIX c. /;
- a visit to "Agvan Kilisesi"
- a Christian Temple /XVIII century./

13:30
Lunch at a national restaurant.

14:30-19:30
Transfer to Baku (about 5 hours). Arrival in Baku.

20:00
Accommodation at the hotel. Rest. Dinner at the hotel restaurant.

22:00
Rest.

12:00
Transfer to the airport.

Before departure, visit the Eastern Bazaar to buy sweets, fruits, spices, caviar and souvenirs

09:00
Breakfast at the hotel.

Excursion to Gobustan. (65 km from Baku).
Visit to the Gobustan Historical and Artistic Reserve. Acquaintance with the lifestyle of people of the Stone Age. Examination of petroglyphs and rock paintings made in the Neolithic era (from 6 to 12 thousand years ago). years BC). Visit to the Gobustan Museum-Reserve (included in the UNESCO World Heritage List).
Excursion to the mud volcano " Dashgil"
Azerbaijan ranks first in the world in terms of the number of mud volcanoes. Here, on a relatively small territory of the republic, more than 300 mud volcanoes have been recorded. Underground and marine mud volcanoes are also known in Azerbaijan. Tourists will be able to observe with their own eyes such manifestations as elevations in the form of griffins, depressions on the surface of the earth and cone-shaped elevations with craters - mud hills, from which mud masses and gasses are constantly or periodically erupted onto the surface of the earth.
If the excursion to the mud volcanoes is canceled due to weather conditions , tourists will visit the world's first tanker museum "Surakhany"

13:30
Lunch at a Fish Restaurant on the Caspian Sea.

15:30
Excursion to the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center
The striking Heydar Aliyev Center with its unusual wave-like shape was designed by the renowned British architect of Iraqi origin Zaha Hadid.
It opened in 2012 and immediately became a calling card of 21st century Baku. For its unique design and innovative interior, without a not a single straight line, the Center was awarded the prestigious international Design of the Year award by the London Design Museum in 2014. The building is intended to become a place that is open to everyone, regardless of gender, race and origin, and brings together people willing to share ideas.
But the Heydar Aliyev Center is not only amazing architecture, but also an impressive museum and exhibition complex. Here you will find a variety of permanent and temporary exhibitions, which present the best examples of Azerbaijani and world art and culture.
Among the permanent exhibitions are a museum dedicated to the life and work of the national leader Heydar Aliyev, the Mini-Azerbaijan exhibition, where you will see miniature copies of the best historical and architectural landmarks of the country, and even a unique collection of vintage cars. The Center also houses a stylish, cozy cafe and modern multimedia conference halls, where international conferences and other events are held. The building itself is located in a large green park, where in fine weather you can relax and have a good time.

18:30
Return to the hotel. Rest before dinner.

20:00
Farewell dinner at a national restaurant.

22:00
Return to the hotel. Free time.

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