Between fifteen and twenty per cent of the population are Christians most of them members of the Coptic Church. There are a small number of Jews within Egypt's religious minorities. The national dish is Molohia, a thick soup. Fish feature on daily menus. The main meats in the diet are pigeon, chicken, mutton, camel and buffalo.
Minced meat is made into rissoles , kofta and shish kebab.
Rice pilaf is also a favourite and salad is served with meals. During this time many Pharaohs ruled Egypt . Between 525 BC and 405 BC Egypt was ruled by Persia . Ptolemy I was the governor of Egypt during Alexander's lifetime and later became king founding the Ptolemy Dynasty of which Queen Cleopatra was the last ruler. The Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion - the Egyptian Coptic Church eventually separated from the Church of Rome.