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 was the largest city in Yemen at the time. Due to the ongoing campaign as part of Yemen's civil war, Taiz is currently a battleground and a war zone. Once known as the "cultural capital of Yemen", the war has bestowed a new name on Taiz: "city of snipers".
