Lahij is one of the most ancient human settlements in Azerbaijan. The Lahij District is located in the Ismayilli region of the Republic of Azerbaijan, on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range at a height of 1211 meters above sea level. Lahij master craftsmen could create forty types of items related to Folk Art. These skilled craftsmen included jewelers, blacksmiths, carpenters, carpet makers, engravers, painters, tanners, shoemakers and bast shoe makers, sock weavers and others.

Khinalug is located just north of Quba in the middle of the Greater Caucasus mountains that divide Russia and the South Caucasus. Khinalug is also the highest, most remote and isolated village in Azerbaijan and among the highest in the Caucasus. Khinalug has a population of about 2,000 people. This small group of people speaks the Khinalug language, which is an isolate within the Northeast Caucasian language family, although many speak Azerbaijani as well.