In the old days, when the Gulf countries lived under the protectorate of Britain, the main currency in this territory was Indian rupee. For convenience, a special rupee of the Persian Gulf was issued. In 1966, the rupee was taken out of circulation, but each principality acquired its own currency. In 1973, two years after the formation of the United Arab Emirates, a single national Arab currency, the dirham, was introduced.
Where did the name come from
The name of the Arabic currency has Greek roots. It is formed from the name of the ancient Greek coin - drachma. An approximate translation from the ancient Greek is “sandwiched”. This is how historians explain the consonance of the words “dirham” and “drachma”.
However, the name “dirham” is not unique. It is used for Morocco currency and the names of small coins of Jordan, Libya, Iraq and Qatar. But any expert will confirm that UAE currency the most significant of all dirhams.
Exchange
The Arab currency (Dirham) has been tied to the dollar since 1997. One dollar always equals 3.6725 dirhams. Perhaps the UAE authorities more than once regretted the decision, but did not change it, since the binding makes stability in the calculation of oil prices. Namely, oil brings the main income to the Emirates.
In the UAE, money can only be exchanged at a bank or exchange office. In stores and in the market you will not accept dollars. Trusting and inattentive tourists often come across a simple trick. Many exchange points take a commission, the existence of which is not additionally announced. Thus, the Arab currency may be cheaper than you expected. In order not to fall for this trick, you need to specify in advance how many dirhams you will receive in return for your dollars. Since at home we often have to deal with such a trick, it is difficult to surprise us.
Today in Russia, the dirham to the ruble is changed at the following rate: 1 dirham costs a little more than 16 rubles.
Coins
1 dirham consists of 100 fils. An inexperienced traveler is better not to mess with Arab coins. The nominal value of fils is 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50. A coin with a face value of 1 dirham is issued. Coins from 1 to 10 fils are rarely used, mainly prices are rounded to 25 fils - in the Emirates they can afford it.
The difficulty with handling coins is that they do not have the usual notation. You will not see the face value figure on the round wheels. A vertical line will be displayed on 1 fils, a circle on 5 fils, and a dotted line on 10 fils. Small coins are issued from copper. Larger from copper-nickel alloy. The most memorable coin is 50 fils. It is not round, but seven-sided.
Bills
The Arab currency has in use colored bills of different denominations. The numbers are familiar to us. The higher the denomination, the larger its size. It’s very easy to understand!
