HODEIDA (HODEDA, HADEDA), a town in Arabia situated on the Red Sea coast 14° 48' N. and 42° 57' E. It lies on a beach of muddy sand exposed to the southerly and westerly winds. Steamers anchor more than a mile from shore, and mer chandise is carried by means of native boats. But Hodeida has become the chief centre of the maritime trade of Yemen and is known as the "Key to San'a." The population is estimated at 35,000 and is cosmopolitan in character. Services are maintained with Aden, and with Suez, Massaua and the other Red Sea ports. Coffee and dates are the principal exports. After the war of 1914 18 Hodeida came under the influence of the Idrisi Seyyid Ali b. Mohammed.