Beef and chicken glisten as they rotate slowly on vertical spits before they are carved off in razor-thin strips. Two cooks slide from a sizzling griddle to a warm toaster in a practiced dance. Mounds of fresh tomatoes,

Döner, a beloved dish and diplomatic symbol, has become a point of contention as Türkiye urges Germany to honor its traditional origins

Beef and chicken glisten as they rotate slowly on vertical spits before they are carved off in razor-thin strips. Two cooks slide from a sizzling griddle to a warm toaster in a practiced dance. Mounds of fresh tomatoes,

Döner kebab is beloved in Berlin. In Turkey, the dish originally was made of lamb and sold only on a plate. But in the 1970s, Turkish immigrants in Berlin opted to serve it in a pita and tweak the recipe to make it special for Berliners.

Turkiye`s proposal to control the renowned doner kebab has caused debate in Germany, where the iconic street dish earns €2.3 billion in sales each year. The European Commission is evaluating Turkiye`s bid to grant the doner kebab "traditional speciality guaranteed" status,

Turkey wants döner kebabs registered so that it has the same protected EU status as Serrano ham from Spain and Neapolitan pizza.