Sylhet:
Is the city on northeastern Bangladesh. It is one of the largest cities in Bangladesh with population about 500,000 people. It lies along the right bank of the Surma River. The most important town in the Surma River valley, it is connected by road and rail with Comilla, Chhatak, and Habiganj, by road with Assam and Meghalaya (both in India), and by air with Dhaka and several international destinations. Tea estates southeast of Sylhet provide most of Bangladesh’s yield.
The Sylhet region is well known for its tea gardens and tropical forests. Sylhet is known for its cane products and also produces tea, fertilizer, and liquefied petroleum (propane) gas. There are also several handicraft cottage industries, including mat weaving and bamboo work. The city however is currently known for its business boom — being one of the richest cities in Bangladesh, with new investments of hotels, shopping malls and luxury housing estates, brought mainly by expatriates living in the United Kingdom.
The city is described as a City of Saints, with the mausoleum of the great saint Hazrat Shah Jalal, who brought Islam to Bengal during the 14th century, being located here. During the next few centuries it was part of the state of Assam during the rule of British India, after independence between India and Pakistan, Sylhet was then part of East Pakistan based on a referendum, and is part of Bangladesh as of today.
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