Israeli tourists stroll around the quiet village of Ghajar, buying ice-cream and fresh juice from enterprising new street vendors. Public statues of Imam Ali, who is revered in Shia Islam, as well as Lebanese farmers on the other side of the valley, are photographed with curiosity.
Ghajar is perhaps one of the strangest places in the Middle East: a Syrian Alawite village, home to 2,700 people in the occupied Golan Heights, that straddles the Blue Line separating Israel and Lebanon. It is more peaceful and pretty than its location may suggest: the large houses are painted in bright colours, fountains and statues adorn roundabouts, and the community enjoys a well looked-after public park full of flowers and trees.
