Not only is there a lot to see in the mountain city of Sheki, but we also found three great sites outside the city that we think you’ll enjoy. You can visit the historic Church of Kish, take a walk to a viewpoint, or hike to a nearby waterfall. We think all three will increase your love of Sheki.
Church of Kish
One valley over from Sheki, you’ll find a lovely old village with a historic church. Not much is known about the church’s history, which adds to its mystique. Although commonly called Church of Kish (Kiş), it is formally called Church of St. Elisha after the first patriarch of the Caucasian Albanian Church. St. Elisha came to the Caucasus early in the 1st century and converted the fire-worshipping Zoroastrians to Christianity. The Caucasian Albanians in Kish are known to have converted in the 1st century, but most of the society didn’t become Christian until early in the 4th century.
You can read more about Zoroastrians in our posts A Guide To The Old City Of Baku and Gobustan’s Mud Volcanoes and Prehistoric Petroglyphs.
This church was likely built by Caucasian Albanians, but its history is still a bit of a mystery. Archeological work from 2000 to 2003 discovered an ancient 4th century BCE temple underneath the current altar. Other than being able to determine its age from carbon dating, little is known about the temple yet. Another piece to the mysterious puzzle is that, as some believe, it is the site of the first church founded by St. Elisha in the 1st century. This is the reason it is named after the saint. While this may be true, nothing has been found to back up that theory.
The building we see today was built in the 12th century and is believed to be the oldest Caucasian Albanian church in the region. Centuries of neglect took a toll on the building, and it was in rough shape. After the archeological study was completed in 2003, the church was restored. Today, it is a museum and is set in a lovely, manicured garden. In the Muslim country of Azerbaijan, finding a church in good condition is uncommon, which makes the Church of Kish even more special.
Note – Albanian translates in English to either ‘land of the brave’ or ‘white man’. They have nothing to do with the country Albania.
The design of the building with a tall dome covered by a pointed roof is very similar to Georgian and Armenian churches, which are said to have been influenced by Byzantine designs.
After Christianity was replaced by Islam in the region, the building was apparently still considered a sacred place by local Muslims for a while.
The church’s small interior consists of one room with undecorated stone walls. The only remaining accent carved into the stone is a cross at the top of the dome. Other than the altar, an antique chandelier and lanterns provide most of the decoration.
The surrounding yard acts as a museum with a few artifacts on display. You can look through windows to view underground crypts. As well, remains of the 1st century BCE temple have been exposed. Smaller items from the site can be seen in the window boxes that line the outer wall.
One of the items on display was a list of 22 laws that were approved by the Church Council in 488AD. Many made us giggle because of their absurdity, but these two were our favourites:
- He who is rich shall give 4 bushels of wheat, 6 of barley, and 16 jugs of sweet wine; the poor man shall give half a loaf of bread, and as much wine as he can. Nothing shall be taken from him who possess no fields or vineyards… He who has sheep in his household shall give one sheep, three fleeces and one cheese; he who has horses, one foal; and he who has cattle, one calf.
- A man who abandons his wife without cause, or lives with a woman outside wedlock, or is lawless, or a murderer, or one who consults wizards, is to be bound, brought to the royal court, and put to a cruel death.
Interesting that living out of wedlock, murder and consulting a wizard all pay the same penalty.
Entrance fee – 9 AZN (€4.50); Hours – 9am – 6pm
Kish
The village of Kish matches the church in cuteness. It was settled 3 to 4 thousand years ago, making it one of the oldest villages in Azerbaijan. We were happy to see that it still looks authentic with cobblestone streets travelling between old stone houses. Most were built in a similar style to those we saw in Old Sheki. In this rural part if the country life is more simple. It’s very far from the high rises of Baku.
We stopped at a bakery to watch women make tandir bread in an oven with the same name. It involves a similar technique to that used in Indian tandoors where the uncooked dough is slapped onto the hot oven walls until it is done. The smell of freshly baked bread was intoxicating.
It was sunny when we arrived in Kish, but the weather is very fickle in this mountain town. It was shrouded in clouds by the time we left. Kish is located at an elevation of 1,000m (3,281 ft), 300m (984 ft) higher than Sheki. This 300m makes a large difference in the weather. It is usually much colder and wetter in Kish than in Sheki.
Getting to Kish
You can take a public minibus 15 or 23 from Sheki, but a return taxi only costs 12 AZN (€6) so, we took a taxi. There is no ride-share app in Sheki.
There’s a large hotel on the edge of Kish, but there is not much to do in the small town and it is only 7 km from Sheki. It can easily be visited in a couple of hours.
You can find Sheki in the top, middle of the map below. Kish is only 7 km away.
WWII Memorial Viewpoint
Above the city of Sheki is a memorial to those who lost their lives in World War II as well as a cemetery for soldiers killed in the recent Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts with Armenia.
If you continue on the trail above the memorial, you’ll be treated to nice views of the city and its surrounding treed hills. We could even see Sheki Castle and the Round Church from the viewpoint.
It’s easy to reach the trail from town and only takes 20 – 30 minutes to reach the viewpoint. You can find the trail on Google Maps, Mapy.cz or Maps.Me.
Qurucana Waterfall
Just outside Sheki is a nice walk to a small waterfall that drops 10m or so through a dense forest. The trail is marked and is mostly in good condition, but the final descent to the viewpoint is very steep. It had rained the morning before we went, so the steep section was also very slippery.
On the way to the waterfall we had more lovely views of this cute town.
Note – Signage near the start of the trail says 4.5 km (2.8 mi), 1 hour, but our Garmin recorded the distance from the Castle Gates to be 3.2 km (1.9mi) one way. Elevation gain and loss is 290m (950ft) plus 40m (131ft) descent to get to the base of the waterfall. You can find the trail map on Mapy.cz or Maps.Me.
It’s not a spectacular waterfall, but it was a nice walk if you have extra time.
You can read more about Sheki, in our post Discover the Mountain City of Sheki.
Click on the link to see our Travel Tips for Azerbaijan
To read more of our adventures in Azerbaijan, click here.
Coming Next – What To See In Ganja and Lake Goygol
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