What's on in Sheki, Azerbaijan through the year

Quiet — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in January.

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, Novruz at the Khan's Palace

• Holiday

  Novruz at the Khan's Palace

  20–28 Mar · usuallyNational holidayCrowded

  Azerbaijan's nine-day Novruz holiday sends more domestic tourists to Sheki than almost anywhere else in the country, with families filling the gardens of the Khan's Palace to picnic beneath the plane trees and take in the shebeke windows. Rooms in the old town go early. Source ↗

Busy — Gurban Bayrami, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Gurban Bayrami

  20 Apr – 10 Jun · usuallyRamadan & EidCrowded

  The Eid of sacrifice is a two-day national holiday that moves about eleven days earlier each year; families travel to relatives, so intercity buses get busy and some shops close. Source ↗

Busy — Gurban Bayrami, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Gurban Bayrami (20 Apr – 10 Jun (usually))

Busy — Gurban Bayrami, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Gurban Bayrami (20 Apr – 10 Jun (usually))

Busy — International Festival of Sweets, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Silk Road Music Festival

  1–8 Jul · usually

  Folk ensembles from Azerbaijan's minority communities and guest troupes from Turkey and beyond perform at the Yukari caravanserai and the open-air Marhal theatre for a week each July, trading on the same Silk Road history that built the town's caravanserais in the first place. Source ↗

• Festival

  International Festival of Sweets

  20–22 Jul · usuallyFood & drink festivalCrowded

  Confectioners from across Azerbaijan and abroad set up pavilions in Sheki's old caravanserai quarter each summer, piling out pakhlava, shekerbura and the town's famous walnut halva for a weekend built entirely around dessert. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Hazelnut harvest

  15 Aug – 30 Sep · usually

  The northwest's orchards around Sheki, Gakh and Zagatala are shaken and gathered by hand from mid-August, and you will see nuts drying in the shade in village yards along the road. Source ↗

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Hazelnut harvest (15 Aug – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Goychay Pomegranate Festival, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Goychay Pomegranate Festival

  20 Oct – 15 Nov · usuallyFood & drink festivalCrowded

  A long day trip south to Goychay: concerts, juice-squeezing and eating contests and fireworks, timed to the harvest and announced late each year. UNESCO-listed since 2020. Source ↗

Busy — Goychay Pomegranate Festival

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Goychay Pomegranate Festival (20 Oct – 15 Nov (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.