Cox’s Bazar is a city, fishing port, tourism centre, and district headquarters in southeastern Bangladesh. It is famous mostly for its long natural sandy beach. 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”. Another old name was “Palongkee”. It has the longest sea beach in the world.
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.
The city covers an area of 23.4 km2 (9.0 sq mi) with 27 mahallas and 9 wards and as of 2011 had a population of 265,500. Cox’s Bazar is connected by road and air with Chittagong.
