Taiz (Arabic: تعز‎ Ta'izz) is a governorate of Yemen. The governorate's capital is Taiz, which is the third largest city in Yemen. Other major towns include Al Sawa, Juha and the famous coffee port of Mocha. It has a total population of just over three million and an area of 10,677 km². Taiz city is the major centre of Islamic learning in Yemen and was the nation's capital between 1948 and 1962. However, it is not as old as nearby Ibb and Jibla. Today it is the most important commercial centre in Yemen owing to its proximity to the richest farmland in the nation and to the important Red Sea port of Mokha.