Cox's Bazar District
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| Cox's Bazar District | |
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  Cox's Bazar
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| Division_name | Chittagong Division |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 2491.86 km² |
| Time zone | BST (UTC+6) |
| Population (1991) - Density - Literacy rate |
1957321 - 785.48/km² - 21.9% |
| Website: Banglapedia Article | |
| Maplink: Official Map of Cox's Bazar District | |
Cox's Bazar District is a district in the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh. It is named after Cox's Bazar, which is one of the world's longest natural sea beaches (120 km) including mud flats. It is located 150 km south of Chittagong. Cox’s Bazar is also known by the name “Panowa”, the literal translation of which means “yellow flower”. Its other old name was “Palongkee”. The modern Cox's Bazar derives its name from Captain Cox (died 1798), an army officer serving in British India. It is also one of the fishing ports of Bangladesh.
Often termed as "World's longest beach", Cox's Bazar is yet to become a major tourist destination in Asia allegedly due to conservative attitude of local people.[1]
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[edit] History
The history of Cox's Bazar begins in the Mughal period. On his way to Arakan, when the Mughal Prince Shah Shuja passed through the hilly terrain of the present day Cox’s Bazar, he was attracted to the scenic and captivating beauty of the place. He commanded his forces to camp there. His retinue of one thousand palanquins halted there for some time. A place named Dulahazara, meaning "one thousand palanquins", still exists in the area. After the Mughals, the place came under the control of the Tipras and the Arakanese, followed by the Portuguese and then the British. The name Cox's Bazar/Bazaar derived from the name of Captain James Cox of the East India; who was in charge of the naval base (near 1800 AD.). In 1854 Cox's Bazar was made a subdivisional headquarter.
After the end of British rule Cox's Bazar remained as part of East Pakistan. Captain Advocate Fazlul Karim, the first Chairman (after independence from the British) of Cox's Bazar municipality established the Tamarisk Forest along on the beach to draw tourist attention in this town and also to protect the beach from tide. He also donated many of his father in law's (Akbar Ahmed Chowdhury, son of Fazlul Karim Kwik of Manikpur) and his own lands for establishing a Public Library and Town Hall. In 1971, the wharf was used as a naval port by the Pakistan Navy's gunboats. This and the nearby airstrip of the Pakistan Air Force were the scene of intense shelling by the Indian Navy during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
In 1984 Cox's Bazar was made a District.
[edit] Subdivisions
There are 8 upazilas under this district, namely:
- Chakaria Upazila
- Cox's Bazar Sadar Upazila
- Kutubdia Upazila
- Maheshkhali Upazila
- Ramu Upazila
- Teknaf Upazila
- Ukhia Upazila
- Pekua Upazila
The Population of Cox's Bazar includes Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists (mostly includes Maghs, a section of whom belong to a tribal community of Buddhists).
[edit] Geography and Climate
Cox's Bazar district with an area of 2491.86 km², is located at and bounded by Chittagong district on the north, Bay of Bengal in the South, Bandarban district on the east, and the Bay of Bengal on the west. Major rivers include matamuhuri, bakkhali, Reju Khal, Naf, Maheshkhali channel and Kutubdia channel. The official area of the city of Cox's Bazar is 6.85 km².
The annual average temperature in Cox's Bazar remains at about a maximum of 34.8 °C and a minimum of 16.1 °C. The climate remains hot and humid with some seasons of temperate weather. The average amount of rainfall remains at 4285 nm.
[edit] Economy and Development
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As a most beautiful and famous tourist spot of Bangladesh, the major source of economy of Cox's Bazar district is tourism. Millions of foreign and Bangladeshi natives visit this coastal city every year. Therefore, a number of hotel, guest house, and motel have been build in the city and coastal region. Lot of peoples are involved in these hospitality and customer service type business. A number of peoples are also involved in the fishing and collecting seafoods and sea products for their livelihood. Out of several sea products various kinds of Oyster, Snail, Pearl and their ornaments are very popular to tourists in the seaside and city stores. A number of peoples are also involved in the transportation business for tourists. As Bangladesh is an agricultural country so most of the peoples of this district are also depends on agricultural products for their living even in this coastal district of Bangladesh.
[edit] Places of Interest
Cox’s Bazar, mostly famous for its beautiful sea beach and the sunset, has several other attractions, including:
- Aggmeda Khyang [1], a large Buddhist monastery, and a place revered by around 400,000 Buddhist people of Cox’s Bazar; and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
- Himchari, located about 32 km south of Cox’s Bazar, is a picnic spot and famous for its waterfalls and provid sufficient security for the tourists. Road to Himchari run by the open sea in one side and hills in othes make the journey to Himchari a path of Heaven.
- Inani, also 32 km south of Cox’s Bazar offers sea bathing.
- Laboni Beach is the main beach of Cox's Bazar and is considered the main beach because it is closest to the town.
- Maheskhali is a small island (268 square kilometres) off the Cox’s Bazar coast. The island offers panoramic scenic beauty and is covered by low hills and mangrove forests. Adinath, a temple of Shiva, and a Buddhist pagoda are also located on the island.
- Ramu, about 16 km from Cox’s Bazar, is a village with sizeable Buddhist population. The village is famous for its handicrafts and homemade cigars.
- Sonadia Island, a small island of only 9 square kilometers
- Teknaf, a place situated by the side of Naaf river is the southernmost part of Bangladesh. The place is home to several birds and wild animals.
[edit] Gallery
 Sunset at Cox's Bazar |
 Submarine Cable Landing Station |
 Cox's Bazar Bus Terminal |
 Cox's Bazar Beach |
 Cox's Bazar Beach |
 Sunset |
 Cox's Bazar Marine Drive |
 Cox's Bazar Marine Drive |
 Himchari |
 Himchari |
 Cox's Bazar Beach |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- New York Times Travel Article, December 2006
- Visit to Cox's Bazar
- A google video about the Cox's Bazar
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