In today's delivery...

• Souvlaki & Kebab Terminology

• The History

• The First Souvlatzidiko in Greece

• Souvlatzidika Today

• Gyros vs Döner

• Up Next

The first souvlatzidiko in Greece was a kebabtzidiko. It opened in 1924, changing the history of (Greek) streetfood forever. Today, you’ll learn what that means and hear from the man whose grandfather started it all…

Also today:

• the difference between kebab and souvlaki, 

• why kebab is still used to describe one specific dish in Greece,

• the origins of gyros.

This is the story of an unlikely hero, who changed the face of Greek streetfood for good. In order to understand his impact, we first need to brush up on our vokebabulary (kebab vocabulary).

Souvlaki & Kebab Terminology

Souvlaki or Kebab?

Kebab, deriving from the Persian word kabāb, means burnt or charred. It is a term that has been adopted by Turks, Arabs, and much of the world. It’s generally used in those languages, and now in English, broadly referring to many things in that category of skewered meat (cooked over coals). 

In Greece, however, kebab or kebap means something more specific: minced (lamb and beef), cooked on a skewer. It’s different to souvlaki, which means small skewer of cubed meat (usually pork).

Ergo, souvlatzidiko means souvlaki joint, and kebabtzidiko means kebab joint. 

That distinction exists because, when immigrants and Greek refugees came to Greece with a minced meat dish that they called kebab, Greeks adopted the same term that those immigrants used to describe it.

The below image is what Greeks are talking about when they say kebab or kebap. While, these days, it tends to be made of lamb and beef (more specifically, veal), it was first made of mutton.

In Athens, souvlaki is also used more loosely to describe what, in English, might be more clearly described as a souvlaki ‘wrap’ (for lack of a better descriptor). It’s also called tylichto in southern Greece or sometimes sandwich in northern Greece. There were other terms for it in ancient times, and also now in modern times, but more on that next time…

The History

The first evidence of cooking skewered meat over coals is in 17th Century BC, modern-day Greece (most who try to write about ‘the history of kebabs’ seem to miss this). The tradition survives Byzantium and Ottoman rule, where street vendors are selling souvlakia in Constantinople. But it’s not until the Middle Ages that he word kebab first appears.

As for the thing Greeks call kebab, based on what is known in Turkey as Adana, its introduction to Greece in the 20th Century is only just a footnote in the story of that ancient tradition, which spans centuries, borders and identities.

It’s a tradition that has travelled with people, and continuously adapted and developed over time. Many of the original and oldest souvlatzidika in Athens begin with a similar story, of a father or grandfather moving to Athens – either from Constantinople, Anatolia, or the Middle East – and making ends meet by sharing the food they loved with their new neighbourhood. In fact, this is the story of most kebab shops, the world over. Most tend to begin with an immigrant.

Kebab, like gyros, features in Greek steetfood today thanks to immigrants and refugees. Unlike gyros, it’s often sidelined as an oriental wildcard. What many don’t realise is that the origins of our beloved souvlaki (in pita) begin with the same man who introduced kebab to Greece. You’ll see why shortly.

The First Souvlatzidiko in Greece

One immigrant in particular played a crucial role in developing Greece’s streetfood culture and, in a way, reminding the nation of its ancient tradition.

Nobody is arguing that Greeks didn’t eat meat beforehand. But the souvlatzidiko or souvlaki joint, as we know it today, first appeared in 1924.

Thanks to a man who named himself Isaak Meraklidis. 

Not only did he introduce the concept of the ‘kebab’ to Greece, he’s also likely responsible for establishing the concept of what is known today as the traditional Greek souvlaki in pita. 

Born Misak Anispikian, he was an Armenian who fled troubles in Adana, Turkey (which is known for its eponymous kebab), and sought refuge in Greece. Before settling in Greece permanently, he spent a brief period in Cairo, Egypt, where the idea came to him to introduce the ‘kebab’ to Greece. On his return to Athens, he rebranded himself as Isaak Meraklidis from Egypt, and opened To Aigyptiakon (the Egyptian). This year marks its centenary (100 years).

Meraklidis’ grandson (who also carries the name Misak Anispikian) still holds the first souvlatzidiko standing to this day, a couple hundred metres away from the original building in Nikaia. There you’ll find kebab, souvlakia, lahmacun, yaourtlou and falafel, on a menu that reflects the eclectic heritage of the tradition we all consider, and have adopted and adapted, as our own. Although that menu looks more oriental than wha you’ll find at authentic Greek souvlatzidika today, To Aigyptiakon is where the tradition begins.

We had the privilege of speaking to Meraklidis’ grandson, Misak. All of Athens, he notes, travelled to eat at To Aigyptiakon. His grandfather’s interpretation of the kebab became an instant hit as soon as it opened. Its uniqueness and, allegedly, the smell, stopped Athenians in their tracks. 

Conveniently, the area was the hotspot for rembetadika and bouzoukadika – the music venues of 20th Century Athens. The most famous performers of the day (e.g. Stratos Dionisiou, Stelios Kazantzidis, Marika Ninou) – even the Brazilian PELÉ – would stop by for grandfather Isaak’s kebab. (Pelé stopped by after a game between the Brazilian club Santos and Olympiacos in 1961, for those wondering.)

The Birth of the Traditional Greek Souvlaki

Meraklidis’ impact and legacy cannot be ignored. Without him, we probably would not have what is today known as the Greek pita. Working together with a baker, he perfected his recipe for the pita bread itself. It is with this he replaced the Arabic flatbread served with kebab elsewhere, and formed what is now the basis of the archetypcal Greek souvlaki wrap, or tylichto (sandwich, if you’re from Thessaloniki). 

Traditionally, a pita of souvlaki only consisted of the meat, the pita, tomatoes, onions and oregano. No tzatziki, and certainly no chips or French fries. The tradition of souvlaki served with bread is not a new one and, unsurprisingly, dates as far back to ancient Greece. But the first conception of the traditional Greek pita of souvlaki, with the above ingredients, begins in the 20th Century with Meraklidis. Without him, our understanding of souvlakia today may well be different.

Given the immediate success of To Aigypitakon, Meraklidis swiftly opened a second branch in the centre of Athens, in Monastiraki – which marks the epicentre of Athens’ souvlaki scene today. That, too, is likely thanks to Meraklidis’ impact: he taught and trained the men behind Thanasis, Mpairaktaris and Savvas – the original big names in Athens’ souvlaki scene – who have risen to world fame for continuing the tradition today. Taste Atlas, for example, recognises Thanasis as the 42nd ‘Most Legendary Restaurant’ in the world.

Let’s take Savvas: you’ll notice that their story begins with Meraklidis and To Aigyptiakon on their website. Not only did Savvas work for Meraklidis, he also married his daughter; the two men worked together for many years. As for Mpairaktaris, the other ‘big name’? He went into partnership with Meraklidis at the Monastiraki branch of To Aigyptiakon, and later went on to own the shop (which is still in his name today).

The original site of To Aigyptiakon was passed down to Meraklidis’ son, Setrak, and is now in the hands of his grandchildren, Misak and Azniv.

Souvlatzidika Today

Those who think of souvlatzidika today will likely think of souvlakia, or kalamakia (as your simple souvlaki on a skewer is called in southern Greece), and gyros.

But these staples of today’s classic souvlatzidiko menu only began to appear in Athens in the 1950s, after Meraklidis’ story begins. What better source of information do we have than one of the men behind one of the first, and oldest, souvlatzidika in Athens? 

Thanasis was his co-founder and cousin, but Christos Rampos, who first earned his stripes working for Meraklidis at To Aigyptiakon, recalls that it wasn’t until the 1950s that somebody first started selling kalamakia in Athens. At the same time, kalamakia were becoming popular in a town called Livadeia, a place that will feature often in our future stories.

The First Kalamakia and Gyros/Döner

The idea of selling kalamakia was a trend that likely travelled to Athens from places like the port of Rio-Antirrio, near Patras, where the now iconic bridge between the Peloponnese and central Greece sits.

Although Meraklidis started a tradition with his kebab, kalamakia were about to become the national steetfood of the 1960s, and they more closely resembled the kind of thing that you’d have found in the ancient world.

What about Gyros?

Not too long after kalamakia, Rampos recalls that döner entered Athens, after refugees brought the Ottoman tradition with them to Greece. It didn’t last too long: a law imposed by the Greek Junta in the 1970s banned the use of minced meat, and therefore döner, due to hygiene reasons. 

This proved a pivotal moment in Greek street food history, de facto enforcing the use of pork meat, popularising kalamakia over kebab, and paving the way for the birth of the Hellenic iteration of döner: gyros.

Although many claim that döner first arrived with the wave of refugees who fled to Greece from Constantinople and Smyrna in the 1920s, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of gyros actually being sold in Athens until the 1950s.

Kebabination’s conversation with Meraklidis grandson, Misak, confirms Rampos’ account: “Gyros – or döner, as everyone called it at the time – didn’t come until later, in the 1950s. It wasn’t until the Junta banned the use of minced meat [and thus döner] in the 1970s that Greeks started to use larger chunks of meat and called it gyros.” 

And what about the iconic picture of Isaak Meraklidis, alongside a colleague carving döner with a pipe in his mouth? “It was probably around 1955 that [To Aigyptiakon] started making döner. On charcoal! Charcoal was used to make it at the time,” he makes a point of specifying.

Gyros vs Döner

Now, those who work in souvlatzidika and gyradika (gyros joint) will note the nuances between the two: namely, a döner tends to contain a more marinades and more fat (which you notice when you’re eating it). Crucially, gyros tends to be larger chunks of pork (or chicken as the alternative), while döner remains largely a beef and/or lamb product. 

That distinction is reflective of perhaps one of the distinctions between the Greek and Turkish approaches to grilled meat. Although similar, you’re more likely to see Turks using more complex marinades than Greeks might. Many Greeks will still guard the tradition of only adding salt and oregano to their souvlakia, or kalamakia, and preach against adding chips/French fries or even tzatziki to a souvlaki.

Even Tomas, another Armenian kebabtzi whose story is similar to Meraklidis (albeit a few decades later) also preaches against the use of spices in his handmade lamb and veal kebab. You can find him and his son Marios in one of Athens most famous refugee neighbourhoods in Neos Kosmos. Hear his sermon below:

kebabination

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Kebab is often overlooked as a foreign contribution to Greek cuisine. In reality, it’s what our understanding of Greek streetfood begins with.

Isaak Meraklidis is a name we ought to respect and remember. Who knows what our cuisine might look like without him. 

Up Next

Today, we’ve started with story of the first souvlatzidiko in Greece and the crucial role immigrants and refugees have played in shaping and developing the nation’s favourite streetfood.

In the next few weeks, we’ll go further back in time and visit the birthplace of it all: Ancient Greece.

We’ll be talking more about souvlakia. More about kalamakia. More about gyros. And making sense of all the complex terminology, as well as why Greeks even argue amongst themselves about it.

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With love & good company,
Alex @ Kebabination

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Acknowledgements

Aside from Mr Misak himself, who took the time to talk to Kebabination, credit is due to:

• Marina Petridou and Tasos Mprekoulakis, the authors of the first ever book about the souvlaki,

• Gastronomos and LiFO for populating the internet with the facts (albeit in Greek),

• All of you for reading this far. Come and say hello!