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Section 4. Cultural studies
Section 4. Cultural studies Секция 4. Культурология
Ismayilova Elnara, Azerbaijan Tourism Institute, Teacher of Azeraijan Tourism Institute Email: allaqiyeva@yahoo.com
Sheki as a cultural tourism center
Abstarct: The article about the Azerbaijan city and this place is very interesting for every tourists. There are a lot of ancient monuments and historical places in Sheki. You can see Azerbaijan traditions, old history, delicious cuisine and beautiful nature, too. Every tourists can stay in Caravanserai hotel, to walk forest Markhal, to eat delicious “Sheki halva" and watch old game of Azerbaijan “Chovgan” in Sheki city.
Keywords: Sheki; cultural tourism; historical places; Sheki Khan palace; Azerbaijan; Caucasus; Silk road.
Sheki-the ancient, historical, cultural and interesting part of Azerbaijan. Sheki is situated in the North-West of Azerbaijan and the highest mountainous peaks the Greater Caucasus Mountains around there are Khan Yaylaghi (1800 m.), Gizil Gaya (3000 m.) and Bazar Duzu (4430 m.). Everybody can see this city’s name the historical writings of European, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Georgian and Russian scholars. Sheki tourism center attracts ecotourism and cultural tourism lovers today, area’s nature, mountains, river, climate, clean air and forests are interesting for every tourists. City has their own architectural style, because every houses’ roofs are built from red bricks and when you watch city from mountains it is very amazing beauty for everybody. When the tour packages are created their included mosques, bathrooms, national museums, religious places and other monuments of city. Government protects 84 monuments today.
The old craft, silk and trade center Sheki is located on the way of the Great Silk Road. This impact to the build of the many caravansaries in this strategically area. In XVIII — XIX century a lot of European and Chine merchants came to this area and they stayed in the five caravansaries, but today the tourists can see only two of them [2, 106]. The government restores the hover caravansary today; upper caravansary is well known in the all Caucasus countries and used for the tourists as restaurant and hotel today. These caravansaries built with the river stones and red bricks, upper caravansary have 300 rooms and cellars, square is 6000 m 2. When the
tourists come to this city, they want especially to stay in this historical and cultural place.
Sheki is cultural and architectural reserve, many visitors love to be in Sheki Khan’s palace (17601762 year) which has two floors. Every tourists interested on construction of the palace, because a single nail was not used and each room’s window have their own mosaic in there is made in traditional style Shebeke (colored glass decoration), frescos about local traditions, wars scenes on the walls and ceilings. Albanian temple in Kish village (I century), Maiden Tower (Come and See) (VIII-IX century), Sheki fortress (1765 year) fortress is included to the every tours, too. The ancient church in the East is Albanian temple, this place was known by Thor Heyerdahl that is why there is this ethnographer’s monument. Maiden Tower (Come and See) was built against the Persian Nadirshah, this fortress location is altitude for defense inhabitants. This place attracts not only cultural tourists but also extreme tourists [1, 226-227].
Sheki inhabitants are well known with their funny jokes and they have their own dialect, which is mainly spoken in the city. Several crafts are still supported in Sheki. The city still has street names that indicate the ancient professions — Duluzchular (potters), Zargarlar (jewelers), Halvachylar (confectioners) etc. Tourists can buy potter plates, silk products, handicrafts, jewelers and carpets with national ornaments. By the way, be sure to try the famous, mouth-watering Sheki baklava, which is manufactured and sold in numerous family confectionary
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Секция 4. Культурология
stores in the city center. It is a specific sweet and their you can eat Sheki piti, a stew created with meat and potatoes and prepared in a terracotta pot for 24 hours. Many restaurants, catering centers are decorated with the national ornaments, are serviced the international and domestic tourists.
Regulary international festivals celebrated in Sheki, one of them was the third “Silk road” international music festival, which continued from 30 June to 4 July in 2012 year. At that time, the inhabitants celebrated 250-year jubilee of “Sheki Khan’s palace”. Tasty meals
are amazed everybody and for that purposes the local persons have their own National Culinary festival. 23 September is the “City day” and every year in the center of the city are organized holidays, but the last year was the 2700th anniversary of city. The International Organization of Turkic Culture announced Sheki as the capital of intangible cultural heritage of Turkish nationalities in 2012 year. Sheki is a sister of the Bulgarian city Gabrovo, Georgia city Telavi, Ukraine city Zhmerynka, Turkey cities Giresun, Lapseki and Konya, Belarus city Slutsk.
Reference:
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3. Mammadov E. Q. Azarbaycanda turizm bazarinin formala§masi va idara olunmasinin regional xüsusiyyatlari, Bakr, - 2013, - 170 sah.
4. Namiq Heydarov, Tarana Heydarova. Tabiat abidalari va turizmin inki§afi, - Bakr, - “Tahsil” NPM, - 2011, -168 sah.
5. Н. Р. Алиева. Развитие туризма в регионах Азербайджана в обеспечении занятости населения. - Баку, Авропа, - 2010, - 196 с.
6. Shaki Khan Palace. The first Edition, - Tutu Publishers, - Baku, - 2006, - 180 p.
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