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, where the houses are in typical brown bricks, but where the mosques are in white. Most famous among the mosques are the Ashrafiya, the Muctabiya and the Mudhaffar. But most memorable is still the old citadel and governor's palace that rests on top of a mountain spur 450 metres above the city centre. The economical base for Ta'izz is coffee growing in the surrounding landscape, together with growing of the mild narcotics qat and other vegetables. Among the city's own industries are cotton-weaving, tanning and production of jewellery. Ta'izz has good road connections with the rest of the country. The city has a Muslim madrasa that has status as a university. HISTORY 1175: Ta'izz is made capital of the Ayyubid dynasty. Around 1500: 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