Following Sheki ’s selection as the Turkic Capital of Culture and Art for 2016, the region is likely to play a greater role in promoting Azerbaijani and Turkic culture at home and abroad. Local journalist Gunel Manajii tells Visions readers what much-loved Sheki is all about. ------• ------TRAVEL

Turkic states and autonomous regions to create unity in the spheres of art and culture. By appointing a cul­ tural capital each year the organisation aims to bring together artists and intellectuals and facilitate cultural integration within the Turkic world. Sheki’s selection was celebrated on 29 April with a grand festival m the gardens of the historical Khan’s Palace, which hosted folk dancing, a handcrafts exhi­ bition and press awards ceremony. Sheki is no stran­ ger to staging festivals and many foreigners take part each year. The Silk Way Festival features memora­ ble performances of world music and was held for the seventh time this summer, with musical groups from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Japan and Poland. The first Sheki Theatre Festival was held m 2014, withm the framework of the Azerbaycan teatn 2009-2019-cu il- lerde (Azerbaijani Theatre 2009-2019) programme, Kelegayi headscarfs made with Sheki silk while the Naghara (Drum) Sheki International Fes­ tival of Percussion Instruments debuted here in the his city of quiet beauty and clean Caucasus last year. Another favourite is the Interna­ mountain air lies surrounded by the tional Festival of Sweets, which traditionally begins Caucasus Mountains and its inhabit­ on 20 July. Sweets (firm, xashil, sweet pilaf, milky ants differ in their peculiar manner kasha, etc.), pastries (baklava, feseli, gatlama, zilvi- of speech. It resembles an earthly yye, umadj halvah, etc.) and confectionery (noghul, Tparadise and makes you smile just by nuthearing halvah, its semeni halvah, etc.) are exhibited from name - Sheki. There is no quarrelling or frowning around the country and dished out by representatives here, everyone tries to be sociable and cheer each of the different peoples and regions of Azerbaijan, other up by telling jokes. It is considered shame­ each dressed in national costume to evoke their par­ ful not to know jokes in Sheki because the city is, ticular regional atmosphere. among other things, famed for its humour. Found­ Along with being the Capital of Culture 2016, ed more than 2,700 years ago, Sheki is one of the Sheki is twinned with several other cities: Grresun most ancient settlements of Azerbaijan, located (Turkey) since 2001, Colmar (France) since 2014, on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus and Gabrovo (Bulgaria) since 1980. In such a way, Mountains, 370km northwest of Baku. Travelers Sheki plays an important role in promoting Azerbai­ and visitors who come here leave unwillingly be­ jan throughout the world. cause of the clean air, picturesque landscapes and friendly inhabitants. PASSING THE KELEGAYI Sheki has long been popular with tourists for its THROUGH A RING favourable location and ancient historical monuments. The city is also considered the country’s So it is no great surprise that this year TURKSOY capital of handcrafts and the artistic products (the International Organisation of Turkic Culture) de­ made here are not produced in any other region clared Sheki its Capital of Culture and Art, thanks to of Azerbaijan. Local artisans have managed to its original features and nch local culture TURKSOY preserve their secrets until today, passing them was founded m 1993 by the ministries of culture of down from generation to generation. An example

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LOCAL ARTISANS HAVE MANAGED TO PRESERVE THEIR SECRETS UNTIL TODAY, PASSING THEM DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION

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of one such skill is pottery: household objects and kitchenware made of clay. Products made here are sold locally and abroad. Yet the region is probably best known for something else. As Sheki is located on the old Silk Road, silkworm breeding has been the main industry here for centuries. Mention silk in Azerbaijan and we immediately think of Sheki. The process of transforming mulberry leaves into silk is very Shebeke, the multicoloured glass mosaics pieced together without nails delicate. Before becoming silk, the silkworm win ue unıiKeıy to see such stunning shebeke an- passes through several stages, to produce very fine where else in the world. It is manufactured with silk, an example of tenderness and wonderful beau­ great dexterity and the mam feature of this art is ty. A favourite of guests and tourists is the kelegayi that the shebeke mosaics are put together with­ headscarf made with Sheki silk. There is a special out glue or nails. The patterns are formed of way to test the kelegayi s authenticity: if the kelegayi, geometrical figures, the round, polygonal and whatever its size, passes through a wedding ring then star-shaped forms being the most important. An it is made from genuine Sheki silk. average-sized shebeke mosaic consists of 5,000 Sheki is also famous for its embroideries. In the wooden and glass details. 10 to 15 steps are re­ 19th century the region was the centre of tekelduz em­ quired to produce one detail, which means per­ broidery, which is made using colour silk threads and forming some 50,000 steps overall to produce an is normally embroidered on velvet or woollen fabric, average-sized shebeke. This can take up to five only the tekelduz in a gobelin style is embroidered or six months. on lmen. Tekelduz embroidery is an ancient Sheki art The round-form shebeke made by Huseyn Had- and means to make with one hand. In ancient times, jimustafazade in Sheki is unique. According to him, only men would embroider it but today women do the distinguishing feature of his shebeke is that the too. It was used to decorate things like women’s details are curved and truncated rather than straight. clothes, pillows, covers and bathroom rugs and the The wooden frames around shebeke are generally designs often featured the flora and fauna of Azerbai­ made from oriental plane trees. jan. It is not an easy craft - one composition can take three or four months. Red, black or dark blue velvet A 300-YEAR-OLD HOTEL is sourced locally or from abroad. First the artisan Caravanserais built along trade routes used to draws the outlines of the embroidery on the fabnc function as guesthouses. As Sheki was a city of stretched tautly across a machine and then fills m the trade and crafts a set of caravanserais was built middle. The needle used is called a garmaj. here, but only two of the five large caravanserais that functioned m the 18th and 19th centuries have SH E ВЕКЕ - ONLY IN SHEKI reached modern times. These are the Yuxan Kara- The subtlest, most beautiful shebeke - locally vansaray (Upper Caravanserai) and the Ashagi produced, multi-coloured stained glass - in the Karavansaray (Lower Caravanserai). Today the world decorates the Palace of Sheki Khans. You TRAVEL

Yuxari Karavansaray functions as a hotel. Enter­ times gone by this building, would hospitably open ing feels like travelling back three centimes, it feels its gates for merchants and strangers, but would just as though this mysterious place has kept even the as quickly turn into an impenetrable fortress when smell of the past. The two-storey building with its closed. deep basement was built at the end of the 18th cen­ tury. The eastern architectural style emphasizes its SHEKI KHANS’ PALACE antiquity and beauty. The lower row of rooms on There is a story in every detail and every comer the first floor is the basement, where trading mer­ of the Palace of Sheki Khans, considered the bright­ chants and guests would store their goods. The old est example of medieval Azerbaijani architecture. walls, the pool decorated with ancient ornaments, It was built in 1763 by Huseyn khan, the grandson the stone steps leading to the second floor from the of Haji Chelebi khan. Thousands of small pieces wide courtyard - all this carries us back through the of glass were used to produce the shebeke window centuries. mosaics, fitted together without glue or nails. It was The Ashagi Karavansaray is currently being with reason too that the palace was built in the up­ !§одш|] restored. At 12 metres high on the street side, 10 per part of the city: it was intended as the summer metres on the east and west sides, it is larger than residence of the khan, the moderate heat and clean the Yuxari Karavansaray. It has an area of 8,000m2, mountain air in the higher part of the city turning it 242 rooms and four entrance gates and reflects the mto a paradise in the hot summers. Not only men style of Sheki’s architects. The main facade over­ but also women could unwind on the palace’s dou­ looks the river, giving a sense of silence and fresh­ ble balconies, which were closed at either end to ness. A pool sits in the centre of the courtyard. In maintain privacy.

The Yuxari Karavansaray (Upper Caravanserai) functions as a hotel today, with room prices starting from 20AZN a night i i s The Palace of Sheki Khans, widely regarded as Azerbaijan’s best example of medieval architecture

The 300-year-old oak and plane trees growing ing room to fetch piti for his guests, but the cook in the yard add a sense of mystery - to touch them refused to serve it, arguing that he couldn’t open feels like coming into contact with 300-400 years the piti pot until it was absolutely ready. After all, of history. Inside the palace the multi-coloured preparing this dish requires careful observance of patches of light beam through the shebeke, playing all the rules of Sheki cuisine. Piti is prepared in with the sunshine and pleasing the human eye, the small clay jugs; a dish not prepared in one of these refined drawings on the ceilings and the various can’t be called piti. patterns on the walls - all this makes you wonder Usually Sheki’s cooks begin preparing piti in about the richness of the imagination and talent of the evening. It is traditionally cooked for five or the old Sheki masters. six hours on a weak fire and served hot the fol­ lowing morning. The process of eating is also in­ PITI - ONCE A DISH FOR SERVANTS teresting. First, bread is crumbled onto a plate and Piti represents the best of Sheki cuisine and no then the liquid from the clay pot is poured on top, visitor to the city should leave without having tast­ leaving just a little liquid at the bottom of the pot. ed it. It is unique in terms of the peculiar way that Then an onion is cut into four large pieces. The it is prepared and eaten. The dish has a long his­ second stage begins as soon as the first comes to tory too. Piti contams a lot of fat and since it gives an end. This time the peas and meat are removed people energy, it used to only be given to servants and seasoning is added. Then the contents of the to keep them strong. In ancient times piti was first plate are squashed with a fork and eaten with bread prepared by a man named Horuzoglu. Legend says and onion. Sheki’s residents do not recognise piti that a high-ranking official sent a man to the din­ cooked or eaten in any other way!

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Some claim that the recipe first appeared m the pe­ riod of the Sheki khanate; others say it was invent­ ed by locals. Over sixty shops producing and sell­ ing halva function in the city today, the majority of which belong to local producers. Real Sheki halva is cooked according to ancient recipes passed down from previous generations. One of the shops in which the profession has been handed down is Aliakhmed Shimiyat Evi (Aliakhmed’s House of Sweets). Hos- rov Gafarov, its manager, claims that he inherited the knowledge and skills from his father. According to him, making halva is not something that anyone can do - halva cannot be prepared at home. Ilgar Rustamov has been making halva at the Aliakhmed Shimiyat Evi for years and says that to prepare halva requires following certain rules. Sheki halva is produced from rice flour, from which a liquidy dough is made. This dough is then poured through a copper funnel into copper baking sheets. (Halva must be prepared in copper ware). 10-12 layers are made and placed on top of one another. The surface is evenly covered with a layer of groundnut. Then five more lay­ ers are added and the resulting surface mixture is col- ourised with saffron and baked for about 15-20 min­ utes. Finally, syrup is prepared from granulated sugar and evenly poured over the halva. These are just some of the many wonderful

Piti, Sheki’s signature dish beauties and delicacies in Sheki. It is not without reason that they say a picture is worth a thousand MYSTERIOUS ROOTS OF SHEKI HALVA words. 2016, Sheki’s year as the capital of Tur­ The name Sheki conjures instant thoughts of kic culture, is the ideal time to visit. its sweets and in particular its halva, which despite the similarity is not called bakhlava here. There are About the author: GunelManafli is a Baku- SMALL CLAY various opinions about the origins of Sheki’s halva. based journalist originally from Sheki. POTS; A DISH NOT PREPARED IN ONE OF THESE CANT BE CALLED PITI.

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