The Syrian people's beliefs and outlooks, similar to those of most Arabs and people of the wider Middle-East, are a mosaic of West and East. Conservative and liberally minded people will live right next to each other. Like the other countries in the region, religion permeates life; the government registers every Syrian's religious affiliation. However, the number of non-believers in Syria is increasing but there is no credible source or statistics to support this information. Cuisine Syrian cuisine is dominated by ingredients native to the region. Olive oil, garlic, olives, spearmint, and sesame oil are some of the ingredients that are used in many traditional meals. Traditional Syrian dishes enjoyed by Syrians include, tabbouleh, labaneh, shanklish, wara' 'enab, makdous, kebab, Kibbeh, sfiha, moutabal, hummus, mana'eesh, bameh, and fattoush. A typical Syrian breakfast is a meze. It is an assortment platter of foods with cheeses, meats, pickles, olives, and spreads. Meze is usually served with Arab-style tea - highly concentrated black tea, which is often highly sweetened and served in small glass cups. Another popular drink, especially with Christians and non-practicing Muslims, is the arak, a liquor produced from grapes or dates and flavored with anise that can have an alcohol content of over 90% ABV (however, most commercial Syrian arak brands are about 40-60% ABV). Notable people Scholars Iamblichus, a philosopher, mystic and mathematician Porphyry, a philosopher and polemicist Damascius, head of Plato's Academy: dubbed the "last of the Athenian Neoplatonists" Syrianus, head of Plato's Academy and teacher of Proclus Lucian, a satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer Posidonius, a polymath Libanius, a teacher of rhetoric and sophist author John Chrysostom, Syrian-Greek Church Father and archbishop of Constantinople Thebit, a polymath who has a significant contributions in maths, astronomy and physics. He also worked in translation with Syriac, Greek and Arabic Severus Sebokht, scholar and astronomer; the first Syrian to employ the Indian number system. Al-Battani, who introduced a number of trigonometric relations; his Kitāb az-Zīj was frequently quoted by many other medieval astronomers, including Copernicus. Ibn al-Nafis, polymath whose areas of work included medicine, surgery, physiology, anatomy, biology, Islamic studies, jurisprudence, and philosophy: mostly famous for being the first to describe the pulmonary circulation of the blood. Ibn al-Shatir, an astronomer, mathematician and engineer. He worked as muwaqqit (موقت, religious timekeeper) in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and constructed a sundial for its minaret in 1371/72. John of Damascus, a polymath