Greeks and Turks at each other’s throats - over a bowl of soup
- Martin
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Greeks and Turks are at it again. This time over something as (un)appetising as tripe soup - patsas in Greek, işkembe çorbası in Turkish.
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According to Associated Press, a restaurant owner in Thessaloniki - the birthplace of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk - wants to have the soup registered as Greek cultural heritage via UNESCO. That alone is enough to raise a few eyebrows in Turkey.
Because this isn’t heard as a quiet application.
It’s heard as: “we’ll take that one too”.
And this isn’t the first time.
The döner debate with Germany is still fresh. The argument there was the Berlin-style version. On paper, that makes sense. In Turkey, it sounded like something else entirely.
Same feeling here.
And then there’s the classic explanation that always pops up - that tripe soup was supposedly invented by a chef called something like “İşkembeci”.
You can forget that.
İşkembe means stomach. An işkembeci is someone who makes the soup - not the man who invented it.
There isn’t a single origin story.
Because this soup exists across the entire region - Turkey, Greece, the Balkans. Same idea, same flavour profile, same purpose. It wasn’t invented. It just… evolved.
But that doesn’t really work when something is being officially registered.
Because then one name has to go on it.
And that’s where it starts to rub.
In Turkey, food culture runs deep. It’s not just something you eat - it’s something you recognise as your own. So when others start putting labels on it, the reaction tends to be quick and direct.
From the outside, it can look like an overreaction.
From here, it looks more like a pattern.
We’re just one step away from someone claiming baklava as well. Try saying “baklava is Greek” in Istanbul - and see how quickly the mood changes. (Disclaimer: neither I nor the blog can be held responsible if you try).
Did you know?
İşkembe is made from boiled cow or sheep stomach (tripe). Not for everyone - but a staple across much of the region.
