A six hour or so drive from Baku, the mountain town of Sheki is one of the must-see sights of Azerbaijan. Stay at the eighteenth century caravansera – summertime only, as there is no heating to speak of and winter temperatures plummet! – now a simple but stunningly beautiful hotel, and visit the majestic wooden Khan’s Palace, built without a single nail and filled with some of the most impressive stained glass and Islamic miniaturist frescowork in the world today. Nearby is the Albanian church at Kis (Kish), home to one of the oldest Christian churches in the world, thought by many to be the very first Christian church, as mentioned by St Paul in the New Testament. The Albanians (AlbANNians, no relation to the European country of AlbAYnia) were one of the first Christian civilisations and ruled this part of the Caucasus until around the 5th century AD.