"ملاحظات ميدانية: بلاد الرافدين. هيئة الأركان العامة في الهند. فبراير ١٩١٧". [ظ‎‎١‎٤‎٨] (٣٥٠/٣٠٥)

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Turkish silver coinage is practically not current and is subject
to a very heavy local discount. For purchases in Arabia of
camels, etc., it has been necessary to import large quantities
of Maria Theresa Dollars from Aden and Masqat; this coin is
still the sole recognised currency in Central Arabia.
The coinage of A1 Hasa is peculiar to the district, and includes
the Turkish pound or lirah, the Maria Theresa dollar, the rupee,
the tawila, and copper coins from India, Masqat, Zanzibar,
German and British East Africa. Of these the Maria Theresa
dollars are coined specially for Arabia and parts of East Africa *
and all bear the date 1780. They are known as rials. The
tawila or long bit is one of the so-called fishhook coins. It is
merely a piece of copper, shaped like a compressed Y, with some
Arabic characters stamped on it. These have not been coined
for several hundred years, and A1 Hsa is the only place in which
they are current.
For currency of Kuwait are page 48.
Chronology .—The Moslem day is reckoned from sunset to
sunset and is divided into 24 hours, which are counted as twice
12. Sunset is reckoned as 12 o’clock, and is the fixed reckoning
for each day. Twelve hours after sunset is again 12 o’clock.
The Moslem calendar begins with 16th July, in the year 622
A.D., this being the date of the Hajirah or flight of Muhammad
from Mecca to Medina. The Moslem year is a purely lunar year
of 12 months. Each of the odd-numbered months contain 29
days, each of the even-numbered months 30 days. There are
thus 345 days in the year, or 355 in leap year, 11 of which occur
in each cycle of 30 years. In the course of 33 years each month
makes a complete circuit of the seasons. On the 25th February,
1906, began the year 1324 of the Hajirah, but the official or
financial year is now reckoned 2 years earlier, consequently the
Turkish year, 1327. now corresponds to our 1911.