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DRINK | SALEP | TURKISH
Salep — What I Thought Was an Innocent Drink is Anything But
Who knew a drink could yield so much power?
It was a cool day in Skopjë, North Macedonia, and we had been walking around exploring for a couple of hours. We both craved a nice hot salep, but the usual place where we get it was closed for some reason.
We frantically eyed up the cafes that lined the quaint alleyways of the ‘old town,’ checking the chalkboard menus and searching for the tell-tale shiny metal carafe that it gets served from.
We walked quite a ways and were almost going to give up when Chris spotted one — the shiny metal dispenser sat proudly on the counter behind the cafe window.
“Do you have salep?” Chris asked the waiter standing by the door. He nodded.
We ordered two and made our way to the outdoor seating area.
When the big cup arrived, I snapped some photos. “I’m going to write an article about salep,” I told Chris. “I’d like to learn more about it and I’m interested in doing some research.”
More innocent words have never been spoken.
