A visitor to Turkiye might be excused from thinking Turkish people aren’t big drinkers. Certainly many restaurants don’t serve alcohol, and in some parts of Turkiye the only place you’ll get a beer is on the quiet from a corner shop, sold to you in an opaque plastic bag for discretion.

If you’ve ever been to a certain type of Turkish wedding you’ll have noticed that Turks will sing and dance the night away fuelled by nothing more than sweet tea. But the people who invented Efes beer and the famous aniseed-flavoured schnapps called raki are not complete strangers to getting a buzz on.

Particularly in coastal resorts like Didim, Turkish people will sit and enjoy a lager while nibbling on sunflower seeds by the beach, share a bottle of raki at a fish restaurant with mezes, have a beer and a singalong at a live music bar, sip whisky and smoke cigars on the deck of a friend’s boat at sunset, or drink cocktails all night until the sun rises at one of the beachside clubs.

So it should be no surprise that Turks also have excellent hangover cures, and like the best hangover cures they are simple, cheap and at least loosely based on science.

The first one I encountered sounds quite disgusting, but trust me, it works! Ayran and soda. Ayran is slightly salty yoghurt, diluted with water until it’s the texture of full-fat milk, and is very effective at cooling you down and rehydrating in hot weather. For the hangover cure, ayran is poured slowly into a glass over plain soda water and stirred, with an optional extra teensy pinch of salt.

The drink helps balance low blood pressure and rehydrates thanks to the natural electrolytes; the calcium and the gentle fizziness settle a dicky tummy; and the protein and modest fat content help moderate blood sugar levels.

While it might not sound as appealing as the traditional British favourite of a fry-up and a can of coke, it won’t upset your stomach further with excess fat, or spike up your blood sugar with an overdose of sugar.

If the very thought of ayran and soda makes you queasy, or you feel that prevention is better than a cure, then what you want is a cucumber. Quite aside from the fact that cucumbers are grown locally here and in season they taste amazing, are also 95% water, help you rehydrate; rich in electrolytes to help your body absorb water; contain B6 and natural sugars to fend off a headache; and if you leave the skin on, the fibre helps your gut expel toxins.

Unlike ayran and soda, which works best the next morning, slicing, salting and eating a cucumber (or even two) before you go to bed will protect you from a hangover in the first place.