Cebrayil (also spelled Jebrail) is a small town in the southern foothills of the Karabakh mountains, about 340 km southwest of Baku. It sits at an altitude of 600 metres, separated from the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan by the Araz river to the south.
The town and almost the entire rayon were lost to Armenian forces in August 1993 during the first Nagorno-Karabakh war. The entire population was displaced eastward across Azerbaijan. The region was recaptured by Azerbaijani forces in the 2020 war, and full sovereignty was restored in 2023. Reconstruction is underway, but the area remained largely depopulated and heavily damaged as of early 2026.
Before the war, the rayon's economy centred on cotton — dubbed by locals the "white gold" of Azerbaijan. The railway that once connected Baku to Nakhchivan along the Araz river has been out of service since the early 1990s; there are plans to restore it as part of broader Karabakh reconstruction.
Near the town, a huge poplar tree is believed to be a thousand years old. In the village of Khalafli, an ancient watchtower still stands, offering panoramic views over the region. The ruins of two remarkable 12th-century bridges can be seen in the village of Khudafarin on the Araz river.