The history of coffee dates back to 850 AD, and possibly earlier with a number of reports and legends surrounding its first use. There is evidence of either coffee drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree from the early 16th century, in the Sufi monasteries of Yemen, spreading soon to Mecca and Medina. By the 16th century, it had reached the rest of the Middle East, South India (Karnataka), Persia, Turkey, India, and northern Africa. Coffee then spread to the Balkans, Italy, and to the rest of Europe, as well as Southeast Asia despite the bans imposed during the 15th century by religious leaders in Mecca and Cairo, and later by the Catholic Church.