Damastodon

Word had it that there was a tailor in the Old City of Damascus who played the 'oud and occasionally gave lessons, so I followed the lead and found him yesterday.  A bartender (Abu George) knew him and gave me directions.  The tailor/'oud teacher gave me the first lesson today.  He doesn't speak English, but he taught me how to play a scale effectively by slapping my hand when I played the wrong note.  I won't be giving up my day job to become a professional musician, but at least I'll know the names of the fingers in Arabic. 

Link to a picture of an 'oud that looks something like mine:
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/oud13.jpg