Page 293 - 8 Persian Trade rep Muscat 2_Neat

Report on the Trade of Muscat for the year 1935-36.

Currency.
PART L
The currency of tie country is the Maria Theresa
General description of the Sultanate of Muscat. dollar and tie copper coin, known as the Baiza,
minted in 1635 to the order of His Highness the
Muscat is the capital of the Indcpcn lent Sultanate Sdtan. In Muscat and Matrali, sovereigns, Indian
of that name situated on the .Eastern Coast of Arabia. currency notes and rupees are generally accepted,
With the exception of a small strip on the cast bet the dollar is tho only currency recognised in
coast of the Musandura Peninsula Utwccn Dibba the interior.
and Klior Kaloa, which is under tbi independent
control of minor Shaikhs, the sea-board of the The Maria Theresa dollar factuatcs in value
Sultanate extends in the north from Tibat, od the considerably, being aCectcd by the world price of
western .-mores of the ilusauduia Peniusrla, to silver, by the local demand in the date season,
Ita.s Dl.arbat Ali in the south, situitod some 290 and by the state of the Bahrain pearl market.
miles due north of the extreme westerly print of Trade accounts are kept in Moharnmadis and
Socotra Inland. Gajh, hypothetical units of whi:h tho former com­
In land the Sultanate extends to ‘he boric-rs of prises two species, the black and the white.
the liun-al-Khali or to give it its local name—the The latter is used as a bads of calculation in
Great Desert. Of late y*iars the Omani* have wholesale transactions, whilst the bl.'.sk Moham-
become autonomous, the writ of the Sultan merely nadi, twenty and a half of which constkute a dollar,
runs throughout a coastal belt vaiying in «2opth is used for petty retail trade. Most bundis from
from some 16 to 30 miles. India show their face value in Mohammadis and
Tbc interior is for the most pan mountainous, cot in rupees.
the main ranges running approximately parallel to 20 Gajh . 1 Mohatnoadi.
the r-ca coast with barren, rocky oC?ioots extending 11} Mohanmadis . . 1 Dollar.
in places down to the sea. The higher inland 100 Mohamnadia • . i Toman.
ranges, with a comparatively goo I rainfalL, arc
woo'h-J in places and generally fertile.
Exchange Rate.
The sea coast for some 190 mDei corth-w^st of
Muscat is known as the Batinah. It conriits of a EXCUASGX JOK 100 MUU THEkXy4
fertile strip covered for so me 100 mi Vs of its Length DOLLAAA.
with extensive date groves.
TLe remainder of the coast line within the limits 1933-34. 1934-35. 193VM.
of the Sultanate arc barren and forbidding, with
the notable exception of Dhofar ia the extreme Ba. a. r. E*. a. r. Ba. a. t.
south. This 8oathcm province of Dhofar extends Highest bazaxr rate . 9« 0 0 114 4 O 149 0 «
from Murbat in the east to Ras DLxrbat Ali in the Invest bazaar me 85 0 0 00 0 O 118 • e
west, and is bounded on the north by the Qura Average bazaar rate . 90 8 0 101 0 O 132 • 4
mountains.
Being well within reach of the monsoon rains
and being blessed with several perennial streams, Weights and Measures.
tais area, particularly round Salalai, is extremely The weights used in the Customs Department
fertile. prescribed in Muscat, Matrah and the Coast towns
The town of Muscat, once important and pros­ are:—
perous, has given place to the adjoining port of 1 Kiyu
Mat rah as the trade centre and focui of comioercial • The weight of 0 doQais
or 5*9375 oza
dealings with the Batinah and the ixterior. 24 Kiyas • • • 1 Miucat Maund.
Muscat however still continues to be the seat of 10 Muscat H&unda • 1 Formal ah.
Government and the capital of the Sultanate. 200 Muscat Manods a 1 Bohac.