Saki Hotels

Caravanserai Hotel: Atmospheric Accomodation

The Caravanserai hotel in Sheki was a highlight of our Azerbaijan trip. The hotel is actually a centuries old caravanserai in which the stone walled rooms have been updated with modern carpets, beds and amenities. The rooms are en-suite with hot water and we found ours very comfortable. If you find the place cold at night, ask reception for a heater and they will have one placed in your room.

The best part of staying here is imagining who else may have done so over the years. I know that the lower rooms in a caravanserai were usually reserved for animals, so I wasn't sure whether wealthy medieval merchants had stayed in ours or just their camels.

The hotel features an overpriced restaurant that we avoided. But we did splash out on tea in the chaikhana, which was well worth every penny. The chaikhana is a largish room with raised stone walled nooks in which rugs, low tables and cushions have been placed. I like to imagine that it's the part of the caravanserai where merchants would relax after a hard day's journey along the Silk Road and exchange news from their recent travels. Just as we were doing, they would recline on the cushions in the nooks and drink samovar brewed tea in small tulip shaped glasses, eating small spoonfuls of blackberry jam between sips or placing a sugar cube between their teeth to sweeten the mouthful. We went at night, so the room was dimly lit and sweetly smokey from the sheeshas that the few other visitors were smoking. The proprietor has made his own CD of traditional music that plays in the background. We spent two hours relaxing on the cushions, contemplating the designs in the carpets hanging everywhere and listening to the haunting voices of the Azeri singers. A mystical, dreamy experience and one that shouldn't be missed by any imaginative visitor to Azerbaijan.

• Opinion of Price: more expensive than average
• Related to: Romantic Travel and Honeymoons, Backpacking, Budget Travel
• Written October 25, 2008

Caravanserai

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