What drinks are available?
There is the usual collection of soft drinks is to be found almost everywhere – coke, lemonade, orangeade – but there are also a few that you might not have come across before. Ayran is a yoghurt based drink, which varies in taste from excellent to so so depending on the place. Most visitors are surprised to find that tea ay (chai) is the universal drink in Turkey rather than coffee. This is largely due to the fact that coffee is relatively expensive whilst tea has remained cheap – Turkey is a major tea producer. Having said that, those who like their coffee should try the traditional strong brew for which the Turks are famous (Turk Kahve). Despite the fact that 98% of the population are Muslim, alcohol is readily available in Turkey. The local beers Efes and Tuborg are good larger type beers. Raki is the local variant of Ouzo and is equally potent. It is the Turkish drink and has a whole sub-culture attached to it. It should be drunk only after mixing with water, and consumed with mez
