Travel Guide MajdAl Al-Shams

With almost 11,000 inhabitants, Majdal al-Shams is the largest of the four Druze villages in the Golan Heights. It lies at an altitude of 1,130 meters. While the Druze community generally has a reputation for being well-integrated into Israel and loyal to the Hebrew state, the situation in the Golan is a little unusual. Indeed, until 1967, the region's Druze inhabitants were Syrian, and today find themselves cut off from their families on the other side of the border. Israeli director Eran Riklis' 2004 film, The Syrian Bride, tells the story of a young bride and the difficulties faced by the Druze community separated by the border.