Caravanserais were widely used in the east as places where caravans of traders could stop for the night when moving from one city to another. The active construction of caravanserais in Azerbaijan occurred in the Middle Ages, when trade became one of the most important ways to earn money. The Upper and Lower caravanserais are the only Sheki caravanserais that have reached us. They were built in the 17th century, and the Upper one is still considered the largest in the entire Transcaucasia.