Taiz

 (Arabic: تَعِزّ, romanized: Taʿizz) is a city in southwestern Yemen. It is located in the Yemeni Highlands, near the port city of Mocha on the Red Sea, at an elevation of about 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) above sea level. It is the capital of Taiz Governorate. With a population of over 600,000 in 2005, it is the third largest city in Yemen after the capital Sana'a and the southern port city of Aden.^[1]

Due to the ongoing campaign as part of Yemen's civil war, Taiz is a battleground and a war zone.^[2] Once known as the "cultural capital of Yemen",^[3] the war has bestowed a new title, "city of snipers".^[4]

Climate

Taiz has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh). The average daily temperature high during August is 32.5 °C (90.5 °F). Annual rainfall of Taiz is around 600 millimetres (24 in), but on Jabal Sabir it is probably around 1,000 millimetres (39.4 in) per year.