Page 35 - 8 Persian Trade rep Muscat 2_Neat

Report on the Trade of Muscat for the year 1 926-27.

Introduction. silver, by the local demand in the date season, and
Muscat is the capital of the independent Sultanate t^ie 8tatc Bahrein pearl market.
at name situated at the easterly comer of Arabia. Trade accounts are kept in Mohamadis ar.d Gajh
ii \s£aboard is nearly 900 miles long and extends from imaginary coins. There are two kinds of Mohomadis
7 A t on the west side of Cape Musscndam round —black and white. Black 20£=1 dollar and white
RnWdajir rather over 200 miles due north of the HJ=1 dollar. The white is used in wholesale
island of Socotra, with the exception of a small 6trip trade accounts and the black for fruits, vegetables,
on the cast coast of the Musscndam peninsula from etc. Most JIundis from India show their face value
Dibbch to Khor Khalba which is the administration in Mohamadu and not in rupees.
of the minor Chiefs of Trucial Oman. The Sul­ 20 Gajh .
tanate extends inland to the borders of the Great 111 Mohamadis 1 Mohamadi.
1 Dollar.
Desert but of late years the Omanis have become 100 1 Toman.
virtually autonomous and arc now more subject to The average rate of monthly exchange between
the Imam of Oman and his lieutenant Shaikh Isa
bin Saleh than to Ui3 Highness the Sultan of Muscat the Maria Theresa dollar and the rupee varied
from Rs. 128-6 to Rs. 150 per 100 dollars, the lowest
and Oman. The interior is for the most part mount­
ainous, the high country extending down to the sea being in March 1927 and the highest in June 1926.
coast in a scries of arid rocky heights though vegeta­ The dollar rate fluctuated from Rs. 128-4 to
tion exists on the higher mountains. North-west of Rs. 152'8 per 100 dollars. It was lowest in March
Muscat the sea coast littoral tract is fertile and 1927 and highest in May 1926.
prosperous and date groves extend along it for
over 100 miles. This strip is known as the Batineh Weights and Measures.
Coast and it is to here that the hilimen from Oman,
finding the struggle for existence too keen in the race The weights used in the Customs Department are
of a decreasing water supply, are gradually descend­ prescribed in Muscat, Mattrab and the Coast towns.
ing and forcing out the date and fisher folk. The They arc—
remainder of the coast with one notable exception 1 Kij-aa . the weight of 6 dollars or
is barren and forbidding and rarely visited by Euro­ .5-9375 oza.
peans. The exception is Dhofar which is the name 24 „ . Muscat Maund.
. Fa rot a La.
10 Mausds
of a small fertile district comprising a group of 200 . Bahr.
villages at the south-west corner of the Sultanate.
Gwadur, a port on the Mekran Coast, and a small Rice is sold by the bag; other cereals by the
tract of country round it also owns allegiance to following measures:—
Muscat. It is the last remnant of the Omani posses­ 40 Palin . 1 Farrah. 1
sions on the Persian side of the Gulf. 20 Farrahs . . 1 Khandi.
"if :f&•
es&iSH'riiSn
M&ttrah which is the starting point of the trade ^ ^ **
route to the interior, but Muscat still remains the
capital and seat of Government.
Measures (Linear).
1 Shibr . . 1 Hand of 4} inches.
Currency.
4 Shi bn . . 1 Dhira or cubit.
The currency of the country if the Maria Theresa 4 Dhiraa . . 1 JBafa* or fathom.
dollar and the copper coin minted in 1895 to the
order of His Highness the Sultan. In Muscat and Banking.
Mattrab, sovereigns, Indian currency notes and There are no banks in Muscat. Tbe system among
Indian rupees are generally accepted. the merchants of issuing Hundis (drafts) is in practice
The Maria Theresa dollar fluctuates in value and as trade methods are primitive there are not
considerably, being affected by the world price of sufficient inducement# for a bank to be established.