Cultural life of Sheki

Sheki is an ancient city of culture and crafts, which has a rich collection of cultural treasures and monuments with a history of 2700 years. The city has many houses with red roofs. Undoubtedly, the most popular features of Shakili people are a good sense of humor and funny tales. Uncle Haji is the protagonist of Sheki's comic tales and is the subject of all jokes in the region.

Sheki has always played a central role in the art and architecture of Azerbaijan. It is also the center of fine and decorative arts.

Sheki is a city, where shebeke secrets were unraveled. This mosaic is made of glass and wood. It is made without a single nail and glue. A great example of shebeke you can find in the windows of Sheki Khans Palace.This piece of art you can’t find anywhere in the world. Sheki is a city, where shebeke secrets were unraveled.

In the 50s of the last century, Ashraf Rasulov participated in the restoration of the Palace of the Sheki Khanate and he managed to unravel the secret of Shebeke and bring back to life this almost lost art. 

Shebeke is often compared with stained-glass windows and in either case, colored glass is used, but the comparison with stained-glass windows is wrong. Shebeke is a different special form of art, which requires clear mathematical calculations without geometry and drawings you can't put together shebeke. Convenient work material for putting together shebeke is a beech tree.

Shebeke of the Khan's Palace is not only distinguished by its small details but also the glass is not simple here, it's very thin and its color palette is much richer than modern masters work with. It remains a mystery who and how did this delicate work 3 centuries ago.

Sheki is the center of handicrafts as well. Pots,  kitchen utensils made from clay, and so on., are adored and bought by tourists. 

Since ancient times Sheki has been a major center of trading. One of the sections of the Great Silk Road from China to the Mediterranean sea ran through Sheki. Silk items are a sign of a good tone and taste of the owner., especially kelagai is famous in Sheki- female headscarves. Previously, they were made only by men. If kelagai passes through the engagement ring easily, then it's real. 

Sheki, the land of various arts and crafts is the homeland of Tekelduz. Previously, Tekelduz was mainly occupied by men, because not only artistic taste, but also strong hands are important in this business. Now dozens of women are engaged in this craft. In ancient times, Tekelduz embroidery was used to decorate women's clothing, pillowcases, and rugs. Now its application has become wider. Tekelduz is very thin. and delicate work that takes a lot of time and patience. It happens that one has to work on one embroidery for 5-6 months or even a year. Tekelduz from translation means stringing with one hand.