File 234/1917 'Muscat trade reports. (1911-1924)' [‎86r] (180/428)

REPORT
ON THE
TRADE OF MUSCAT
for the year 1916-17.
Introduction.
Oman is an independent Sultanate ruled by a
Sultan and situated in the extreme south-east ot
Arabia. Its most northernly point is Ras
Musandam at the bottle mouth entrance to the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
It extends but 30 miles on its northern coast
in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. as far as Khasah, its main
length being along its southern coast on the
Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean where ,
reaches as far as Eas Sajar, a distance of 8oU
miles. .
The country consists of a long narrow strip
along the coast, its greatest depth, which is
opposite Muscat, being about 100 miles, the whole
of Es boundary to the north-west consisting of
the Arabian desert. The interior is for the most
part mountainous, the high country extending
down to the sea-coast in a series of and rocky
heights though vegetation exists on the mountains
in the interior.
North of Muscat there is a stretch of sea-shore
known as the “Batineh” which is the most
populated and prosperous part of the country.
Between Sur and Eas Sajar the country is practi
cally uncivilised and rarely visited by Europeans,
in parts there being little if any Government.
Gwadar, a small strip of country on the Mekran
Coast, is all that remains to the Sultanate of its
former possessions on the coast of Persia.
The town of Muscat, the seat of the Sulten
and the capital and chief port of the Sultanate,
fs “vtS by a‘regular'line ofthe weekly mail
steamers of the British India Steam Navigation
Company and by other lines visiting the Persian
Gulf it is consequently the distributing pent of
commerce for the smaller ports along the coast
and also for some of the Persian ports on the
north of the Gulf of Oman, notably Charhar and
its environs..
615 F. & P. D-
Muscat and Muttra were occupied by the
Portuguese in the sixteenth century. e own
remained among their emporiums of the east
until they were ejected by the Arabs intb
eighteenth century, but the only rebes of then
occupation are the picturesque forts which guard
the harbours and which still bristle with cannon
of ancient date.
Muscat, which possesses a horseshoe shaped
harbour with deep water and a good anc orage, is
cut off from the interior by rocky hills. It was
probably on account of this and its consequent
defensibility that it was chosen by the Portuguese
as their capital and continued by the Omanese
during their period of existence as an important
sea power.
The true port connecting with the interior is
Muttra, 3 miles distant, a port which is preferred
by the native sailing craft as being protected
from the “Shimay , the well-known north-west
c^ale of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. area, though it is on
the other hand exposed to the southern storms
from which Muscat is protected.
Currency.
Like the inhabitants of the rest of Arabia the
Arab of Oman uses the Maria Theresa dollar.
It is the official currency in Muscat and the coin
in which the customs dues of His Highness the
Sultan are levied. The Indian rupee is also
current in Muscat and Muttra, but not in the
interior or in the smaller ports of Oman, though
it is now beginning to make its way. A debased
copper coinage was minted in 1895 unoer the
orders of Saiyyed Faisal, the then reigning Sultan
of the place.
The Maria Theresa dollar is a silver coin con
taining but little alloy and it is therefore subject
to the fluctuation of the silver market while it is
also locally affected by the law of supply and
demand. In consequence it varies considerably
in value a condition which is most detrimental to