Page 288 - 7 Persian Trade rep Muscat 1_Neat

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trade siucc the merchant dispivjs of his commo­ To add to tills confusion White Mol:ammcdis
dities in what is rcall/ another commodity of are used in reckoning wholesale accounts and
constaitly changing price. It occurs that he banking transactions while bla.-k Mohammcdis
may Cad that a transaction which on Monday are used in local and retail transactions and ia
showed a profit has become by Wednesday a loss the purchase of dales.
since hj imported goads have been purchased in a hills of -'.xchangc drawn upon Muscat in India
stable currency. are usual!/ in Mohammedls.
The demand for the drilar is greatest in the
early niluran in the date season at which period Weights nnc3 Measures.
it normally attains its highest value. Since,
however, the price is affected by the exchange The weights used in the Customs Department
rate at Aden, Bahrein, Ko.veit and other ports ora are now prescribed for use in Muscat or Muttra
the ccist of Arabia it loeomes the object of the and the coast towns.
attention oi the speculating Hindu and Arab They arc : —
Banker and traders, a fzet which will be seen 1 Kiyas=the weight of G dollars or S'QSZS
from tie tables of imports and exports. Oz.
The following (able shews the rates of exchange 2t Kiyas=l Muscat Maund.
between the dollar and the nip-e for every month 10 Maunds=l Farasala.
of the year
200 Maunds=l Bhax.
Month. : Rice is sold by the bag; other cereals by the
.April . 132 percent. i • following measures
Alay . 140 n 40 Pali8=l Farrah.
Jens . 149 20 Farrahs=l Kbandi.
Jtlr . 17 t
I 'flic rupee which weighs one tola, and the
August 1*14 * dollar, of which the weight is called “Aukia,"
September 141 ; are used for weighing drugs and perfumes. One
ii
October 154 j “ Aukia ” equals eight miskals.
Kov ember 153 Measurer [Linear).
Dr cumber 161 1 Shibr = l hand of 4r\ inches.
Jzauair 103 to 173 4 Shibrs=l dhira or cubit.
February . 171 4 DhiraB= 1 ba* or fathom.
March . 1G8
The copper coinage is as great source of Population and Country.*
trouble to the poorer classes, many of whom are Muscat is stated to contain 10,009 inhabitants
paid ia rupees, as is the dollar to the merchant and Muttra about 14,<jC0, these figures being
class. The value being fixed on the dollar, swings rough estimates, since no statistics are avail
up aud down with the price of *il?er and with the able. Trade has been declining for some
demand for the dollar. vears. The port is no longer the distribut­
It is hoped that the Sultan will take the ing centre for the Persian Gulf, while with
necesicry steps to provide a coinage more reliable the stoppage of the Arms Traffic, a flourish­
for trade purposes and cot so subject to specula­ ing industry, disappeared. The town suggests
tion. that it has undergone a bombardment owing to
the dilapidated condition of its houses which year
Trade accounts are kept in &a imaginary
currency which has two denominations Gaz and by year get worse from want of repair. Of the
Mohammedi, there being two kinds of Moham- population comparatively few reside in good
medi, black and white. houses, the great majority living in huts made
Thus accounts are kept on the following from the sticks and fronds of the tree which
unwieldy table— provide their staple article of diet, the dale
palm; the roofs of the huts are made of the
20 Gazs=l white Mohammcdi. matting woven from the date leaf and the very
fishermen nse the ends of the branches of the
Ill While Mobam medis = 1 dollar.
same tree to make floats for their nets. Ric/',
01 Black Mobammcdis = 1 dollar. dates and the fish, which are plentiful on these