SHEKI, Azerbaijan - When Shudjaet Aliyeva’s children left for Baku to find work, she and her husband continued to live in their five-room house. But their pension, $40 a month, was not enough to make ends meet. “Our pension is barely enough for food and utilities,” Aliyeva remarked.
While thousands of families in Azerbaijanare facing similar dilemmas, today the Aliyevas’ situation has improved: foreign and local travelers are frequent visitors at their home in Sheki, northwest of Baku, in the foothills of the Caucasus mountains. In 2004 Aliyeva, 63, became a member of the Sheki Bed & Breakfast Association which has helped 45 families turn their homes into businesses. The Sheki Bed & Breakfast Association was established as part of the World Bank’s Cultural Heritage Support Project.
The program was launched in 1999 as an alternative to poverty or immigration. Its objective was to conserve and restore cultural monuments and help create additional employment. Azerbaijani Government spent $7.5 million from a World Bank loan for the conservation and reconstruction of four historical monuments – the Shirvanshah Palace in Baku, the Palace of Khans in Sheki, and the Karabaglar and Momine Khatum Mausoleums in Nakhchivan, an autonomous republic within Azerbaijan.
 | | Sheki Khans Summer Residence, built in 18th century. The architectural monument and centerpiece of the museum complex are new. |
According to Aliyeva, the program has meant survival. “Renting out rooms gives us additional income and makes our life easier,” she said. “With the income from this small business we improved our water-supply system and made some repairs in our house.”
Nihad Hasanov, 19, visited Aliyeva’s house this year. “I heard from my friends about the natural beauty of this ancient town and the Sheki Khans Palace... I wanted to go there for a long time, but I couldn’t because I don’t have any relatives there and I don’t have enough money to stay in a caravanserai or a hotel,” Hasanov said.
Kamal Kerimov, a guide at the Palace of Khans in Sheki for the past 20 years, believes that the reconstruction has increased the number of visitors. "Before the reconstruction, visitors were often foreign tourists and guests from Baku, but today residents of Sheki and neighboring regions also come to see the restored palace,” he said. Preserving the past Sheki was founded approximately 2,700 years ago. A capital of the Sheki khanate, this city was part of the ancient Silk Road and played an important role in the development of culture in the South Caucasus. Although there are plenty of historical sites in Sheki - caravanserais, bath-houses, an ancient market square and craft workshops - the most important is the Palace of Khans.
In addition to the cultural significance of the Palace of Khans, the architecture itself is legendary: according to residents, no nail was used in its construction. One unique feature is the large number of stained glass windows that were built without glue or nails - a construction technique known as “shabaka.” Inside, many of the walls and ceilings are covered with detailed paintings of cultural and historic events. The palace was built in 1761-71 as a summer residence for the Shah. In 1967 it became a museum. Over the years, however, a concrete brace that was placed under the roof warped the building’s structural wooden beams and caused cracks in ceilings.  | A shebeke window consists of 3,000 to 7,000
small colored glass pieces |
According to Seiran Mammadov, coordinator of the project in Sheki, restoring this ancient palace close to its original state was the main goal of the reconstruction. "Any visitor entering the palace should feel the spirit of that time," he said.
In order to maintain the integrity of the original design, the building and paintings were studied and examined in depth. Reconstruction, which was lead by the German company Denkmalpflege Mecklenburg, started in September of 2003 and took one year. Restoration included reviving warped wall paintings and cracked shabaka, restoring elements in wooden windows, as well as a major work on the roof and floors. Workers installed electricity and a drainage system to help monitor humidity in the rooms and moisture in the walls. Repairs continued outside the palace itself: the fountain was restored and the garden was landscaped. Although modern technology was used during the restoration, the methods and materials were the same craftsmen used two centuries ago. "To restore the windows, I used Sheki platan to replace wooden elements in shabaka," Tofig Rasulov remarked. Windows consist of 3,000 to 7,000 separate parts per square meter, depending on size of elements. One square meter of shabaka takes six to eight months to create. Helping at the local level The project directly benefits the local population of Sheki, where renovation work and tourists have created work for local craftsmen. People visiting the palace are often intrigued by the shabaka and become frequent guests of Rasulov’s workshop, which is the only manufacturer of shabaka in town. According to Rasulov, the tradition will continue. “This art will not die if appropriate conditions for making and selling these products are created." His son Ilgar, 16, and three more teenagers are learning the craft.
 | | The project helped restore original wall paintings |
Originally the project was to be completed in December 2004, but the deadline was extended through 2006. The second phase of the project largely focuses on the development of local communities and the creation of favorable conditions for local crafts. In particular, a casern in Sheki will be converted into a manufacturing site for craftsmen. Artisans will be able to create 20 types of handicrafts and sell their work there.
With guidance from the World Bank, 70 craftsmen have created the Sheki Artisans Association, a non-governmental organization that supports local crafts as well as helps craftsmen sell their products. International experts have advised local artisans on marketing. And craftsmen have already sold more than 300 silk shawls known as kalagayis in Finland.
Sayali Salimli has exhibited her work – called tekelduz – through the association since 2002.
Tekelduz, a type of embroidery created only in Sheki, is produced using just one hand. Before she joined the association, Salimli worked out of her home. "I embroidered different things on silk, wool and other materials. I then had to take them to Baku for sale. It was hard," she recalled. She now has the proper tools and conditions for her craft.
This World Bank project has also improved the living conditions of communities in Baku and Nakhchivan. * * * Read more about World Bank projects in Azerbaijan |
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