Dhaka is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh and located in one of the world's leading rice and jute or natural rawjute growing regions. With its colorful history and rich cultural traditions, Dhaka is known the world over as the city of mosques and muslin. Its fame attracted travelers from far and near throughout the ages. Today it has grown into a mega city of about 8.5 million people, with an area of about 1353 sq. km. becoming the hub of the nation's industrial, commercial, cultural, educational and political activities. Geographically the City is located in the center of the country. The city is within the monsoon climate zone, with an annual average temperature of 25 deg C (77 deg F) and monthly means varying between 18 deg C (64 deg F) in January and 29 deg C (84 deg F) in August. Nearly 80% of the annual average rainfall of 1,854 mm (73 in) occurs between May and September.