Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace

• Need to prepare/revise and adopt the Management Plan and Conservation Master Plan
• Need to define guidelines for residential house restoration
• Need to monitor all processes of urban rehabilitation

N/A

On 1 December 2022, the State Party submitted a State of Conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1549/documents/ Progress on a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented in that report, as follows:

• The Urban Regeneration Plan for the property has been updated. The urban protection zones have been reassessed and reframed to provide a clearer explanation of what is protected across the city and how the protection zones relate to the property boundary. A revised copy of the plan has been presented;
• The State Party has commenced close collaboration with the Development Forest Service, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is to be implemented in 2023. The aim of this MoU is to improve monitoring processes and seek ways to address encroachment of buildings in the protected forest areas on the southern and eastern boundaries of the buffer zone which is currently affecting approximately 13 hectares;
• Gradual degradation of the urban landscape and architectural details of the garden city is an issue that is being addressed through regular monitoring carried out by the Yukhari-Bash Reserve Office. Heritage supervisors are in place for each neighbourhood, and this arrangement makes it possible to authorise and monitor development projects in line with the Restoration Manual;
• The Restoration Manual is being updated to include more precise recommendations on how the structural details of local buildings might be maintained and particular building materials should be treated. The Manual will be augmented by practical details based on case studies. Material in the Manual that relates to new construction will be removed and used to update the Infill Design Manual;
• The State Party has initiated the establishment of a Special Protection Regime for the property. Under the Law on the protection of cultural monuments, designated reserves have the right to create such regimes. The property is part of the Yukhari-Bash State Historical and Architectural Reserve, and the Reserve Management Centre is driving this initiative. The Special Protection Regime will include rules and regulations for each of the attributes of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) based on detailed inventories. The Restoration Manual and Infill Design Manual will become annexes. Approval of this measure by the Cabinet of Ministers is expected by the end of 2023.
• Recent archaeological excavations in Sheki Khan Mosque and its gardens have been carried out;
• Improvements to the Sheki Art Gallery Exhibition area have been made.

The Committee’s requests reflected the need to strengthen the protection and conservation of the overall historic urban landscape of the property, aspects relating to the planned productive ‘garden city’, and local building traditions, such as distinctive roof constructions and architectural features that reflect oriental characteristics. The State Party’s response reflects the multi-dimensional nature of the task and also recognises the gaps that need to be filled.

Progress has been made in the following areas: the updated Urban Regeneration Plan will strengthen communication through clearer plans and diagrams that set out precisely what is protected; the Yukhari-Bash Reserve Office now has heritage supervisors for each neighbourhood to control development projects; and monitoring of the forestry areas in the buffer zone has been strengthened through a new liaison with the Forestry Service to control encroachment of buildings into the protected forestry areas.

These activities have highlighted areas where further work or tools are required. Firstly, it is clear that the Yukhari-Bash Reserve Office has limited powers over a sizeable part of the property (around 75%), as these areas are privately owned. Owners do not have to obtain authorization for alterations to either their buildings or gardens. This results in the green garden areas being built upon and, as the State Party acknowledges, given the sizeable areas covered by the gardens, this poses a threat to OUV of the property. Secondly, there is no detailed inventory of the elements of the historic urban landscape that need to be monitored. And thirdly, there is currently a lack of clarity as to how certain building elements should be conserved.

The State Party has begun to address these issues. More precise recommendations are being developed to address the conservation of traditional building forms and materials and the Restoration Manual will be augmented to include illustrated diagrams and case studies. An inventorying process for the attributes of OUV has commenced for the whole property. A GIS database will encompass urban form, building types using traditional buildings materials, architectural details and gardens.

The commencement of the process of designating the property as a Special Protection Regime and the guarantees that this new Special Protection Regime will include rules and regulations for each of the attributes of the property’s OUV, based on detailed inventories, are all to be welcomed. There is, though, concern that two of the ensuing measures, namely the development of inventories and the drafting of rules and regulations, are highly complex and need to be grounded in considerable detail, which will take time. While the urgency of establishing improved protection is appreciated, the proposed timeframe for approval by the Cabinet of Ministers by the end of 2023 seems too constrained. It is suggested that the State Party consider a longer timeframe to ensure that these measures are as effective as possible.