The border village that's greeting its first visitors for 22 years

Israeli tourists stroll around the quiet village of Ghajar, buying fresh juice from enterprising new street vendors.

- Maria Rashed and Bethan McKernan

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.

A closed military zone for the past 22 years, Ghajar has only allowed visitors to enter with special permission from the municipal council and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). But in early September, without any notice, the IDF and Israeli police announced they would no longer look at IDs at the checkpoint at the village entrance. The IDF did not comment when asked why the restrictions had been lifted.

Hani, a 46-year-old from Nazareth, was one of an estimated 3,000 visitors to Ghajar on the Simchat Torah holiday in October. "I often visit the Golan in the apple season. I heard Ghajar was open and I wanted to come," he said.