Sister cities of Sylhet

Sylhet (Bengali: সিলেট Silet  pronounced: [sɪlet]; Sylheti Bengali: ছিলট Silôţ), also known as Jalalabad; is a major urban center in north-east 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 500,000 people, making it the fifth largest city in Bangladesh. The city is home to the mausoleums and mosques of Shah Jalal and Shah Paran, revered Sufis of Bengal and the eastern South Asian subcontinent. Every year, Sylhet receives hundreds and thousands of pilgrims to the Dargahs of Shah Jalal and Shah Paran. Sylhet is also famed for its natural setting, amidst rainforests, waterfalls, hills and river valleys. Located in the heart of Bangladesh’s tea country, Sylhet is a hub of the tea industry. Many Sylhetis (local people of Sylhet) have emigrated abroad over the years, and the city receives some of the highest annual remittance inflows in Bangladesh, particularly from the British Bangladeshi community. These remittances have fuelled a real estate and construction boom. Sylhet is also a center of the Bangladeshi oil and gas sector, with the country’s largest natural gas reserves located in Sylhet Division. Historically, Sylhet was part of various kingdoms and sultanates in Bengal and Assam. Under British rule, it was a strategically important hill station in the north-east India.