People and Language Being a port city from early times, Chittagong attracted people from various regions of the world. These international contacts left a lasting impact on the language, religion and culture of the city. Al Idrisi, writing in 1154 AD, states that Arab merchants from Baghdad and Basrah frequently visited an area near the mouth of the Meghna, which is now generally believed to be Chittagong. Other travellers and historians have recorded Arab contacts with Chittagong as far back as the ninth century AD.