Ganja to Sheki Silk Road Historical Corridor
Travel the historic Silk Road corridor connecting Ganja with Sheki through the foothills of the Lesser Caucasus, following the ancient trade route that brought merchants, ideas, and artistic influences between Central Asia, Persia, and the Byzantine and later Ottoman world.
- 1
Ganja City Departure
Depart Ganja on the ancient Silk Road route heading east, the city that Nizami Ganjavi described as a prosperous commercial center falling behind as the road climbs toward the mountain passes of the Lesser Caucasus that defined this section of the trade route.
- 2
Mingachevir Reservoir View
Stop at viewpoints over the vast Mingachevir Reservoir on the Kura River, the enormous artificial lake that was one of the Soviet Union's largest hydraulic engineering projects, now providing water and power to a large portion of Azerbaijan.
- 3
Roadside Caravanserai Remains
Find the roadside caravanserai remains along the Silk Road route where stone hostelry buildings provided shelter for merchant caravans, the spacing of surviving caravanserai sites along the route reflecting the day's journey between stopping points on the ancient road.
- 4
Sheki Foothills Landscape
Drive through the increasingly beautiful foothills landscape as the road approaches Sheki, the mix of agricultural land, walnut forests, and mountain streams creating a scenery that travelers on the Silk Road described as among the most pleasant in the Caucasus.
- 5
Village Craft Workshops
Stop in a village along the route where traditional crafts — pottery, carpet weaving, silk production — continue practices that once supplied the Silk Road trade, the village workshops representing a living connection to the economic activities that made this corridor wealthy.
- 6
Sheki Approach
Arrive in Sheki through its historic approach road where the city appears nestled in a mountain amphitheater below the fortress ridge, the setting that impressed every traveler on the Silk Road arriving from the west along this route from Ganja.