Beautiful bowl on Bahraini oud

Hey all,

I managed to acquire a great sounding Bahraini oud during the vacation and am continuously ooed (no pun intended) and wowed by the bowl. I hope you find the pictures interesting and maybe pay our country a visit for oud tourism.

There are two main makers I've identified on the island: I got my oud from Sawt el-Fan who can be found in the "Music Spot" shop on Exhibition Road in Manama. Their models range from affordable (but playable) beginner ouds made from cheap woods, to expensive ouds, some with bowls made completely of ebony; needless to say the heaviest ouds I have played! They also custommake ouds on request. Here is an article on them: http://www.gulfweekly.com/Articles/27151

Then there is the luthier Habib Ali Habib who works from his home in Isa Town. I did not get the opportunity to play his ouds but I visited his workshop and was awed by the quality of construction and variety. He is also a great oud player. If you're interested you can find a short video of him here:
https://youtu.be/kunwQD8InhU

Cheers,
Mohamed