Ta'izz
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Ta'izz or Taiz (تعز) is a city in the Yemen Highlands that is about an hour away from the famous Mocha port on the Red Sea, lying at an elevation of about 1,400 metres above sea level, with 460,000 inhabitants (2003 estimate).
Ta'izz has a dramatic setting where the roads run up and down the mountain sides. Above the city rises the 3,006 metre high Sabir mountain.
The city has many old and beautiful quarters, with houses that are typically built with brown bricks and mosques are usually white. Most famous among the mosques are the Ashrafiya, the Muctabiya and the Mudhaffar. Also memorable are the old citadel and the governor's palace that rests on top of a mountain spur 450 metres above the city centre.
Ta'izz has many road connections with the rest of the country.
The economic base of Ta'izz is coffee, grown in the surrounding landscape together with the mild narcotics qat and other vegetables. Among the city's own industries are cotton-weaving, tanning and production of jewelery.
The city has a Muslim madrasa that has status as a university.
History
1175: Ta'izz is made capital of the Ayyubid dynasty.
1500 (approximately): The capital is moved to San'a by the ruler of the Taharid dynasty.
1516: Ta'izz comes under Ottoman control.
1918: The Ottomans lose Ta'izz to the new independent Yemen.
1948: Ta'izz becomes the administrative capital of Yemen, as it is made the residence of the imam.
1962: State administrations move back to San'a.
1960s: The first purified water system of Yemen is opened in Ta'izz