Ayran is a cold, savoury yoghurt-based beverage made from yoghurt, water, and salt, often served chilled or over ice. It is a popular and traditional drink in Turkey and other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean. Ayran is known for its refreshing, tangy, and salty taste and can be enjoyed on its own or with meals, especially grilled meats and pastries.
Ayran in Mongolian: 'mare milk', is mentioned in Mahmud al-Kashgari's 11th century Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk, although he did not give any information on how ayran was made. The word is derived from the Old Turkic root adır- ("to separate"), cf. Turkish ayır- ("to separate"). Ayran was developed in Central Asia by Turkic tribes, as a "drink made out of milk".
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish politician, promoted ayran as a national drink. Speaking at a 2013 WHO Global Alcohol Policy Conference in Istanbul, Erdoğan contrasted ayran with beer, which he claimed was a recent introduction to Turkey.
Nevertheless, sales of ayran in Turkey lag behind other non-alcoholic beverages. According to a 2015 joint statement by Producers Association, ayran consumption during Ramadan had declined every year for the years 2010 to 2015.
In 2015, Turkey's Ministry of Customs and Trade imposed a 220,000 TL fine (approximately $70,000) on state-owned Çaykur manufacturers, stating that ayran had been "insulted without reason" in one of their advertisements for iced tea, in which the rapper Ceza rapped that ayran makes him sleepy;
However, in Cyprus, ayran remains a very popular drink amongst Turkish Cypriots.
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