All activities / Craft Skills (Bladesmithing, Pottery, Glass) / Sheki
Craft Skills (Bladesmithing, Pottery, Glass) in Sheki
The Silk Road khanate town whose palace windows hold thousands of glass pieces per square meter, set without a drop of glue.
Why here
Sheki's signature craft is shebeke, stained glass set into wooden lattice without glue or nails, and the Khan's Palace that made it famous, UNESCO World Heritage since 2019, packs five to ten thousand glass pieces into each square meter of window. The living tradition is learnable: the hereditary masters' workshop inside the Sheki Fortress runs hour-long shebeke lessons where you assemble your own small lattice, and the state ABAD ceramics and applied-art center, the first ceramics center in the Caucasus, reconstructed in 2018, adds pottery and woodcarving master classes. Halva and Silk Road caravanserais fill the rest of the day in the Caucasus's best-preserved khanate town.
Best months
April to October is the comfortable season; workshops run year-round on demand. Classes are small and hands-on, book a day ahead through guesthouses or the fortress. Sheki halva leaves with everyone.
Getting there & around
Five hours from Baku by road or overnight train to the nearby station; the fortress, palace, and workshops are walkable. Pairs with the Ismayilli wine stops on the same road.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (2)
ABAD Sheki Ceramics and Applied Art Centre
SchoolThe state applied-art center, first ceramics center in the Caucasus, reconstructed 2018, running pottery and craft master classes.
Shebeke Workshop Sheki
SchoolThe hereditary masters' workshop in the Sheki Fortress teaching hour-long shebeke lattice lessons; no own domain, verified via the national tourism portal and Silk Road programme listings.