25 Great Pizzas Around the World

Pizza (in the traditional sense) is not just the domain of Italy, as these 26 delectable international variations are about to prove-no doughy pun intended.

Lahmacun consists of a thinly-stretched dough base topped with a delicate layer of ingredients (usually minced lamb, chopped tomatoes, onions and herbs) which is then baked in a hot oven until crispy. You can find lahmacun in cafes and bakeries all over Turkey, where they're mostly eaten as a snack or light lunch.

If you've ever eaten Native American fry bread, then you've eaten something akin to langos. This "pizza" is made with a base of fried bread dough, topped with any number of savory or sweet toppings. The most popular combination you will find in Hungary is that of sour cream, garlic butter and shredded cheese.

Tlayuda is traditional to the Oaxaca region of Mexico, where they are sold on street corners and at market stalls. The base consists of a large, toasted tortilla spread with lard, refried beans, Oaxacan string cheese, tomatoes and avocado. Meat toppings will almost always be either chicken, beef or chorizo.

The former mining town of Old Forge in Northeast Pennsylvania is giving New York a run for its money with its unique take on the humble pie. Their "white pizza" is a square, tray-baked pizza with a layer of crust on both the bottom and top and a gooey cheese center in the middle. The whole thing is topped off with a sprinkling of herbs before being baked.

Pronounced "pea-day", this boat-shaped dough pizza is thought to date back to Ottoman times. What makes it so exciting is that, much like traditional Italian pizza, it can come with any number of toppings; meat, cheese, eggs, vegetables. Pide is found all over Turkey and makes a great snack or light meal.

You'd usually have to travel to southern Germany to indulge in this crispy flatbread-style pizza, but it's also sold at Oktoberfest and Christmas markets throughout the country. The dough is rectangular in shape, topped with creme fraiche, sliced white onion and bacon lardons and then baked.

Detroit's own deep-dish pizza is a rectangular piece of heaven. It's got a doughy, thick crust that's crispy on the bottom and eschews the traditional method of topping a pizza by spreading creamy (brick) cheese on the dough before the sauce. The original and best Detroit pizza comes topped with pepperoni, but other variations are also available.

This Polish open-faced sandwich is like a gourmet version of French bread pizza. To make it, you take half a fresh baguette, top it with cheese and mushrooms and then toast it. As soon as it's out of the oven, you drizzle it with some Polish tomato ketchup.

In Georgia, they've taken the delectable combination of cheese and bread and turned it into a national dish: khachapuri. Leavened bread is formed into a boat shape, in the middle of which cheese-and usually an egg- is then baked. You're then supposed to rip off bits of the bread from the edges and dip them in the gooey center as you eat.

Much like the Turkish pide, this "bread pie" is shaped into an oval and topped with meat (usually pork or lamb) and beaten eggs. Macedonians love this local version of pizza so much, one small town even holds an annual festival in its honor.

This isn't so much an unusual take on pizza as it is an unusual take on toppings. Tomato sauce, cheese, spicy peppers, kebab meat and creamy yogurt sauce make up the Kebab Pizza. If you're feeling particularly glutenous, the pizza parlor may even throw a handful of French fries on there, too.

Debate rages over who sells the best New Haven-style pizza (known locally as "apizza"), but one thing's for sure: it's definitely a culinary delight. The crust is thin, crisp and chewy and toppings range from plain (tomato, garlic and Parmesan) to white (oregano, garlic, cheese and clams).

Manakeesh are the breakfast of champions in Lebanon, where they are made by restaurants, market stall holders and mothers alike. They are hand-shaped round flatbreads topped with za'atar (a Middle Eastern herb mix) and a little olive oil and then baked in a hot oven. You can also find them topped with either ground meat or cheese.

Fish lovers rejoice over this thick dough tart, popular in Southern France. It has a bread dough base covered with caramelized onions, olives and anchovies. Think of it as a salty, delicious focaccia.

This isn't a pizza as such, but the fillings and the name allow it to be included in this list. Burek is a flaky pastry pie found all over the Balkans, but in Ljubljana, they've taken it to the next level by stuffing it with tomato sauce, cheese, ham and mushrooms. It's basically a buttery, flaky calzone.

If you wouldn't dream of eating a pizza without cheese, then this dish may not be for you. Coca is found in many forms throughout Spain (both savory and sweet) but this version features a yeasted dough which is often topped with fish and Mediterranean vegetables.

This is one of the few pizzas on this list that doesn't use yeast in its crust, resulting in a thin, almost cracker-like base. This St Louis staple is always topped with tomato sauce and a white Provel cheese, along with whichever other toppings you choose. The pizza is then cut into squares, as opposed to wedges, to make it easier to devour.

This "Portuguese Pizza" features a unique and almost overwhelming collection of toppings. Tomato sauce, mozzarella, sliced tomato, onion, green peppers, olives, chorizo, ham and hard-boiled eggs. The base is typically thin and crispy, although this can change depending on which establishment is serving it.

This is actually a large, savory pancake, but because it usually features ingredients piled on top of it, it's considered a Japanese-style pizza. The pancake batter is typically made from flour, eggs, cabbage, onions and any other number of savory ingredients. It's then cooked on a hot grill and topped with sauce, seaweed flakes and pickled ginger.

Unlike any of the other pizzas on this list, musakhan always features meat-specifically chicken- served on the bone. The chicken, cooked with sumac spices, onions and pine nuts, is supposed to be the star of the dish, but the chewy taboon bread on which it's served is just as delicious.

We couldn't make a list of pizza and not include at least one entry for foodie-heaven Italy, albeit a rather unusual one. Panzerotto is a small calzone which is fried as opposed to being baked in an oven. They are usually filled with just tomato sauce and mozzarella, but meat or vegetables may be snuck in there also.

Originating in towns along the Ohio River, Ohio Valley-style pizza is a square piece of pie baked with only a thin layer of sauce, cheese and meat. Once the pizza is out of the oven, it is then doused in (unmelted) shredded mozzarella, which offers an unusual hot-and-cold sensation for those eating it.

This is more like a focaccia than a pizza, so springy and doughy is the base. This specialty of Argentina is topped with olive oil, salt, onions and oregano- and sometimes a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. It's not to be confused with the fugazzeta, which is the same thing except the dough is stuffed with cheese.

Just when you thought you'd consumed every deep-fried food possible, the Scots come along and blow the whole thing out of the water (or should that be deep-fryer?) This dish is exactly what it sounds like; either a half or whole pizza dropped into bubbling hot oil and deep-fried.

Persian Pizza can mean many different things to many different people, but one thing's for sure: it always features a crunchy crust and a myriad of toppings, which can include olives, onions, vegetables, cold cuts, hot dogs, ground meat, spices, tomato sauce and cheese.

Sold around the Quad Cities region of Iowa and Illinois, this pizza is unique in the fact that most of the toppings are placed under the cheese before it's baked. The base has a malted, nutty flavor, the tomato sauce is often spicy and the pizza is always cut into long strips. So yes, they do things a little differently here.