Shebeke windows
Coloured glass, no nails.
Sefer azeri — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gulustan — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Urek Meniashvili — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Urek Meniashvili — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Самый древний — Public domain · Самый древний — Public domain · Unknown authorUnknown author — Public domain · Interfase — CC BY-SA 4.0
The summer palace of the Khans of Shaki, inside the walls of the Nukha fortress in the upper town, built in 1797 under Muhammad Husayn Khan Mushtaq and one of the finest works of architecture in the Caucasus. Together with the historic centre of Shaki it was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2019. Its facade is famous for its «shebeke» windows, fine wooden lattices of thousands of small interlocking pieces held together without nails or glue, filled with coloured glass that casts a magical coloured light into the halls when the sun shines. Inside, the walls and ceilings are covered with vivid paintings, from flowers and birds to hunting and battle scenes, with delicate muqarnas above the doorways. The palace was fully restored between 2002 and 2004 by a German team with World Bank support, and it stands in a garden with two huge plane trees. Tickets are about 9 AZN for foreign visitors per visitor guides, and photography inside is usually not allowed. The palace is small, so about an hour is enough; a sunny morning, when the coloured glass glows, is best.
Coloured glass, no nails.
Flowers and battles.
Two giant plane trees.
Inside the Nukha fortress in upper Shaki
A traditional Shaki craft that joins thousands of small interlocking wooden pieces without nails or glue, filling the gaps with coloured glass; workshops in town still make it.
