Sylhet, Bangladesh

Sylhet is a major urban center in north-east part of Bangladesh. It is the principal city and administrative capital of Sylhet Division. The city is located on the banks of Surma River in the Barak Valley and has a population of more than 500,000 people, making it the fourth largest city in Bangladesh. Sylhet is known in Bengal as the "City of Saints". It is home to the mausoleums and mosques of Shah Jalal and Shah Poran, Bengal’s most revered Sufi saints. Every year, the city receives hundreds and thousands of pilgrims to the Dargahs of Shah Jalal and Shah Paran, earning a reputation as the "spiritual capital of Bangladesh". Sylhet is also famed for its natural setting, amidst rainforests, waterfalls, hills and river valleys.On the eve of the partition of India, the people of Sylhet voted in a referendum to join East Bengal. It became a hotbed of the Bangladeshi liberation struggle and produced many renowned freedom fighters, including leading commanders of the Freedom Fighter (Mukti Bahini). As the northeastern frontier of Bengal and its crossroads with Assam, Sylhet had developed a distinct Bengali cultural identity. This includes the distinct Sylheti Bengali dialect and Sylheti cuisine, as well as Sylheti mystic culture, which celebrates religion and pluralism in Bengal. Rabindranath Tagore, the great Bengali poet and first Asian Nobel laureate, took tremendous inspiration from these traditions, particularly from the poetry and songs of Hason Raja.The Sylhet Division produces most of Bangladesh's tea yield, fertilizer and natural gas. It is also known for its cane, citrus, timber and agar wood. Sylhet is a major recipient of remittances from the Bangladeshi diaspora, particularly from the United Kingdom. The city is served by the Osmani International Airport. It is connected to the Port of Chittagong by the N2 and the Bangladesh Railway. The Bangladesh-India border in Tamabil is located to the north of the city. Sylhet is also home to the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology. Sylhet has an international cricket stadium.