Cox's Bazar is a city, fishing port, tourism centre, and district headquarters in southeastern Bangladesh. The iconic Cox's Bazar Beach, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Bangladesh, is the longest uninterrupted beach in the world. It is located 150 km (93 mi) south of the city of Chittagong. Cox's Bazar is also known by the name Panowa, which translates literally as "yellow flower." An old name was "Palongkee". Kutupalong refugee camp with more than a million Rohingya refugees is in Cox's Bazar.

The city covers an area of 23.4 km2 (9.0 sq mi) with 58 mahallas and 27 wards and as of 2011 had a population of 223,522. Cox's Bazar is connected by road and air with Chittagong.

The modern Cox's Bazar derives its name from Captain Hiram Cox, an officer of the British East India Company, a Superintendent of Palongkee outpost. To commemorate his role in refugee rehabilitation work, a market was established and named after him. It is one of Bangladesh's main tourist spots. The city has the longest uninterrupted natural beach in the world.In 2023 Bangladesh evacuated over 50,000 people to safe shelters as Cyclone Mocha approached.

History

During the early 9th century, the greater Chittagong area, including Cox's Bazar, was under the rule of Arakan kings until its conquest by the Mughals in 1666. When the Mughal Prince Shah Shuja was passing through the hilly terrain of the present-day Cox's Bazar on his way to Arakan, he was attracted to its scenic and captivating beauty. He commanded his forces to camp there. His retinue of one thousand palanquins stopped 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 originated from the name of a British East India Company officer, Captain Hiram Cox, who was appointed as the Superintendent of Palonki (today's Cox's Bazar) outpost. He succeeded Warren Hastings, who became the Governor of Bengal following the British East India Company Act in 1773. Cox embarked upon the task of rehabilitation and settlement for the Arakanese refugees in the area. He rehabilitated many refugees in the area, but died in 1799 before finishing his work. To commemorate him, a market was established and named after him, called Cox's Bazar. Cox's Bazar was first established in 1854 and became a municipality in 1869.

After the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857, the British East India Company was highly criticised on humanitarian grounds, especially for its opium trade monopoly over the Indian Sub-Continent. However, after its dissolution on January 1, 1874, the company's assets, including its armed forces, were acquired by the British Crown. After this takeover, Cox's Bazar was declared a district of the Bengal Province under the British Crown.

Geography and climate

Cox's Bazar is located 150 km (93 mi) south of the divisional headquarter city of Chittagong. Cox's Bazar town has an area of 6.85 km2 (2.64 sq mi), and is bounded by Bakkhali River on the north and East, Bay of Bengal in the West, and Jhilwanj Union in the south.

The beach in Cox's Bazar has a gentle slope and with an unbroken length of 155 km (96 mi) it is often termed the "longest natural unbroken sea beach" in the world.

Cox's Bazar lies on a coastal plain in the southeastern corner of Bangladesh. From above, the plain appears to bulge out into the Bay of Bengal. Along the shore is an extensive area of beach and dunes. Most of the city is built on a floodplain that is lower in elevation than the dunes, making it more susceptible to flooding due to cyclones and storm surges. The Cox's Bazar coastal plain was formed after the sea reached its present level around 6,500 years ago, with the area of the current floodplain originally forming a sediment sink that has since been gradually filled in by the Bakkhali river as well as smaller streams coming down from the hills.

The climate of Bangladesh is mostly determined by its location in the tropical monsoon climate region: high temperatures, heavy rainfall, and generally excessive humidity, with distinct seasonal variations.[21] The climate of Cox's Bazar is mostly similar to the rest of the country, but with an even wetter southwest monsoon season due to its coastal location. The annual average temperature in Cox's Bazar is a maximum of 30.1 °C (86.2 °F) and a minimum of 22.0 °C (71.6 °F). The average annual rainfall is 3,524 mm (138.7 in).