From their Instagram feeds they appear to be just like other young people enjoying the summer time: backflipping into water, chilling at a pool bar, basking in a sundrenched meadow. But the photos belong to a group of Syrians who have maintained their privileged lives, despite the war ravaging their country. They’re Alawites, the country’s minority sect and its elite. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and many in his ruling government belong to the group, which comes from a strand of Shiite Islam. They dwell in Tartous and Latakia, perched on the Meditteranean on the Syrian coast, where there are few...
