Based on the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, many believe that the important ancient
emporium of
Muza is located near Mokha. The exact location has been debated, either being present-day Mokha itself, the coastal village of Maushij or the inland settlement Mauza'. Prior to the
arrival of the Ottomans in Yemen, in 1538, Mokha was a small fishing village. The Ottomans developed Mokha as a port city, being the first port north of the strait of
Bab-el-Mandeb. English, Dutch, and French companies maintained factories at Mokha, which remained a major emporium and coffee exporting port until the early 19th century. The city boasted a stone wall enclosing a citadel, as well as a labyrinth of thatched huts that surrounded the wall from without. Of these, some four hundred accommodated Jewish households that engaged in trade. They chiefly traded in the commodity of coffee, brought by camels to the port of Mokha from places further north and inland, primarily from
Bayt al-Faqih. Other trading goods brought to Mokha for export included such spices and commodities as frankincense, myrrh, Dragon's blood, Socotrine aloe, cumin, and the Balm of Gilead. In the 18th century, a plague killed half of the city's population, from which time the city never really recovered. The Somalis of Berbera also had a navigation act where they excluded Arab vessels and brought the goods and produce of the interior in their own ships to Mokha and other Arabian ports: Berbera held an annual fair during the cool rain-free months between October and April. This months-long market handled immense quantities of coffee, gum Arabic, myrrh and other commodities. In the early 19th century these goods were almost exclusively handled by Somalis who, Salt says, had "a kind of navigation act by which they exclude the Arab vessels from their ports and bring the produce of their country either to Aden or Mokha in their own
dows." Foreign observers at the time were quick to notice the
Somalis who frequented Mokha. The majority of the Somalis arrived seasonally and stayed temporarily to trade in the goods they brought from the interior of the
Horn of Africa. They were noted to be industrious in trade as well as keeping to the general peace: The Samaulies, who inhabit the whole coast from Gardafui to the Straits [Bab-el-Mandeb], and through whose territories the whole produce of the interior of Africa must consequently reach Arabia, have been represented by Mr. Bruce, and many others, as a savage race, with whom it would be dangerous to have connection. I think that this is an unjust accusation, and is sufficiently disproved by the extent of their inland trade, their great fairs, and their large exports in their own vessels. A great number of them live close to Mokha, and are a peaceable inoffensive race. Amidst the varied classes which are found in this town, the Soumalies, or natives of the opposite coast of Africa, are the most calculated to excite the attention of a stranger. Few reside here permanently, the greater number only remaining until their stock of sheep, gums, or coffee is disposed of. In 1817, a British lieutenant was allegedly mistreated in Mokha, and the British Indian authorities requested that action be taken. However, the imam's governor turned down the British demand. In response, in December 1820,
HMS Topaze and ships and troops belonging to the British
East India Company attacked Mokha's North and South Forts, destroying them. A decade and a half later,
Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt would also attack the city and destroy its fortified wall closest to the sea, as well as its citadel. By that time, however, Mokha's trade in its country's precious commodity of coffee grains (
Coffea arabica) had already been supplanted by Ethiopia, which was the principal trader of this commodity to North Africa and which sold for a third of the price of the same coffee imported from Arabia. Diplomat
Edmund Roberts visited Mokha in the 1830s. He noted that Turkish "rebels" possessed Mokha. The Turks took it over after they left Egypt while being disgruntled with the rule of
Muhammad Ali of Egypt. These "rebels", consisting of confederates throughout
Arabia, had banded together under one leader named Turkie ben al Mas.
Jacob Saphir who visited the city in 1859 wrote about seeing many houses that were vacant of dwellers, although the Turkish governor still dwelt there with a band of soldiers, collecting taxes from local traders and ships visiting the harbor. The
Moka pot stovetop coffee maker was named after the Yemeni city. At the time Mokha was a famous leading producer and trader of
coffee worldwide with a history going back 500 years, and also became known for its unique Yemeni wild
Mocha coffee beans. In 1955, the modern
Port of Mokha was established. Mokha was among the population centers in southern Yemen taken over by the
Houthis during their
military offensive in March 2015, and was
bombed by an Arab coalition in July 2015. The city was attacked by pro-Hadi forces in January 2017 and captured by them the following month. In 2021, an alleged attack by
Houthi rebels, using ballistic missiles and drones, caused major damage to Mokha's port. The
Associated Press reported that the attack on the port destroyed warehouses that aid organizations had been using. Today, Mokha is no longer a major trading port, as local coffee farms could not compete with those in former colonies such as
Java. The local economy is nowadays largely based on fishing. ==Climate==