Oslo and Aleppo are 5,000km apart, so it may come as a surprise that you can find authentic Syrian food in Norway’s culinary capital. Head to Oslo’s Vippa market and seek out Aleppo Bahebek for a helping of the country’s best shawarma.
After being forced to flee their home country, Syrian refugees have supported themselves in style here by cooking up top-notch local delicacies for queues of kebab-fancying Norwegians.
One of the original chefs, who has worked with Aleppo Bahebek (which means ‘Aleppo, I love you’ in Arabic) since it opened in April 2017, was forced to enter Norway overland when unexpectedly expelled from Russia.
He did that on a bicycle, by the way, across Europe’s most northerly border. In the middle of winter.