Page 128 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 4,5

TRADE 159

. Irum the United States and Russia, iron and steel for
; ® purposes from Germany (before the war), general stores
Hinitny ij £n(j (?) Austria, and silk and condiments.
^Tmnorts pay an 11 % valorem duty, of which 8 % may be paid ■

' • kind but with a rebate of 10 % if cash is paid ; the remaining
* aV must be paid in cash, without rebate. Exports pay 1% duty
either in cash or in kind.

Currency

I Currency in Yemen is in a chaotic state : little information
■
! regarding it is available, but it appears that both the coins current
] an(j their exchange value vary greatly at different times and in
1
\ different localities. Bury says : ‘ Before the affairs of the Yemen
\ can be placed on a sound commercial basis, her currency and
customs must be overhauled ; both are enough to drive a brisk i
business man frantic.’ Wavell says : ‘ A more hopeless muddle
1 than the present condition of the Turkish currency (in the Yemen)
| would be difficult to conceive. It is different wherever one goes,
• and the value of the principal coins fluctuates daily. There are
about a dozen different coins in common use, none of which is
exactly divisible into a whole number of the next smallest.’
Chid. The Turkish pound should be the standard gold coin of
the country, but it is rare and is becoming rarer.
The English sovereign is readily accepted as the equivalent of

10 Maria Theresa dollars : the usual quotation in Turkish piastres
is 112 P.T.
The French napoleon is also in circulation, V*
ouuer. There are two opposition silver standards : I

The Maria Theresa dollar, or riyal = +12 piastres.
(o) The Turkish Mejedieh dollar = ± 17 piastres.

ironnrf *a.^er used to be the. only legal tender in silver and the
but tKa^10n Maria Theresa was prohibited for some time,
oid ?r°k*kition was withdrawn in 1910 ; the Mejedieh dollar
Maria TV/6 acc!BPte<^ by the Arabs of the towns, and even there the
The itleifsa *s accepted more readily,
piecea 8l^/er s^ver coins in use are the 4 piastre and 2 piastre

Xhe * piastre is a nickel coin = 4 hilal (copper),
and the^h ants Hodeidah use Indian rupees much as currenoy,

in that cu^6 ex°bange calculations on the value of 100 riyals
Aden. rren^y, the rate of exohange being guided by the rate at .'