Page 7 - 8 Persian Trade rep Muscat 2_Neat

Report on the Trade of Muscat for the year 1925-26.

Introduction. Trade account.? arc kept in Mohamad is and Ca jh
Muscat is the capital of the independent Sultanate imaginary coins. There arc two kinds of Mohamadis
of that name situated at the easterly corner of Arabia. —black and white. Black 20J-=1 dollar and white
1 H=1 dollar. The white is used in wholesale trade
Its seaboard is nearly 900 miles long and extends
from Tibbat on the west side of Cape Mussendam nccounts and the black for fruit, vegetables, etc.
round Has Sajir rather over 200 miles due north of Most Hundis from India show their face value in
Mohamadis and not in rupees.
the island Socotra, with the exception of a small
strip on the cast coast of the Mussendam peninsula 20 Gajh . 1 Mtiba wadi.
from Dibbeh to Khor Khalba which is the adminis­ 11} Mohamidis . 1 Dollar.
tration of the minor Chiefs of Trucial Oman- The 100 . 1 Toman.
Sultanate extends inland to the borders of the Great
Desert, but of late years the Omanis have become The average rate of monthly exchange between
virtually autonomous and arc now more subject to the Maria Theresa dollar and the rupee varied from
the Imam of Oman and his lieutenant Shaikh Isa Ks. 156*9 to Rs. 185*5 per 100 dollars, the lowest
bin Saleh than to Ilis Highness ihc Sultan of 3Iuscat being in March, 1926 and the highest in April, 1923.
and Oman. The interior is for the most part mounta- The dollar rate fluctuated from Es. 150*9 to
nous the high country extending down to the sea Rs. 185*5 per 100 dollars. It was lowest in March,
coast in a series of arid rocky heights though vegeta­ 1026 and highest in April, 1925.
tion exists on the higher mountains. North-west of
Muscat the sea coan littoral tract is fertile and pros­ Weights and measures.
perous and date groves extend along it for over ICO
miles. This strip is known as the Batineh Coast The weights us ed in the Customs Department are
and it is to here that the hillraen from Oman, finding prescribed in Muscat, Mattrah, and the- Coast towns,
the struggle for existence too keen in the face of a
decreasing water supply, are gradually descending They arc—
and forcing out the date and fisher folk. The re­ 1 Kiyai . the weight of G dollars or
mainder of the coast with one notable exception is 5-9375 OZ3.
barren and forbidding and rarely visited by Euro­ 24 . Muscat Maund.
peans. The exception is Dhofar which is the name 10 Maunds . Farasala.
of a small fertile district comprising a group of 200 ft : . 1 Jjahr.
villages at the south-west corner of the Sultanate. Rice is sold by the bag ; other cereals by the
Gwadur,a port on theMekran Coast, and a small tract following measures:—
of country round it also owns allegiance to Muscat.
It is the last remnant of the Omani possessions on 40 Palis . 1 Farrah.
the Persian side of the Gulf. 20 Farr a ha 1 KhandL
The town of Muscat, once so important and pros­
perous, has been falling into decay for years now. The rupee which weighs one tola, and the dollar of
which the weight is called " Aukia ,T arc used for
Most of the trade goes to the >istcr port of Mattrah . .
which is the starting point of !bc trade route to the sighing drugs and perfumes. One Aulr.a equal,
interior, but Muscat still remains the capital and ^ght Miskals.
seat of Government.
Measures (Linear).
Currency. 1 Shi hr . • • 1 Hand of 4} inches
The currency of the country is the Maria Theresa 4 Shi bn . 1 Dhira or culit
dollar and the copper coin minted in 1895 to the order 4 Dhiras . . 1 Ba* or fathom.
of His Highness the Sultan. In Muscat and Mattrah
Sovereigns, Indian currency notes and Indian rupee* Panking.
arc generally accepted.
The Maria Theresa dollar fluctuates in value con- There are no banks in Muscat. The system among
siderably, being affected by the world price of silver, the merchant* of issuing Hundis (drafts) is in practice
by the local demand in the date season, and by the and as trade methods arc primitive there are not
state of the Bahrain pearl market. i,ulficient inducements for a bank to be cstablLhrd.