Pretending to play the violin and dying in a pool.... and Delightful Turkish Food

My first job here in Istanbul was for a music video for a Turkish artist. The concept was quite interesting but it did mean that I had to pretend to be able to play the violin, which sounds like a pretty simple task. Not for me!
I found it really hard to hold it correctly, its actually not as easy as it looks but after getting the real violinist to show me, about a 100 times, I managed to hold it like you're supposed to, kind of. The noise that I made with that beautiful instrument was just horrendous, I felt so sorry for the team, its was a killer and I had to do it several times!

I have only done a few music video's before and I knew it was going to be a long day, it always is, 16hrs later I managed to stagger home and pass out on my bed lol!

Delightful Turkish Food

I have discovered some really nice Turkish treat, and the food here is pretty cheap as well which is great.
I have to say that two of my favorite things I have tried are Baklava and Simit.
Baklava is sweet and made of pastry, walnuts and almonds. I have a real sweet tooth so I  really love this, but its pretty rich so even though they are really small, one is enough.
In Istanbul they have pastry shops pretty much on every street corner selling Baklava and other pastry treats.

Simit is something pretty simple, its basically a bagel with sesame seeds. They have different types as well, one which is slightly lighter with olive paste inside, my favorite! When I bought it I thought it was going to be sweet as the bread looks similar to a croissant. The olive paste it looks like its filled with chocolate, but they are so yummy!
They are sold fresh in the morning by a man with a little box on the street and they are sold with fillings in the cafe just down the road from our apartment.

This weekend I am flying to Mardin so will try and get some images, apparently its a stunning city so am looking forward to it :)

Love,
Em xx