Hutcheon: Behind the images of a war zone, Gaza is also a place where people live and make a living.But there’s a side to life here that’s less well-known.

Hutcheon: I’ve come in search of a woman said to have special powers.And in the run-down outskirts of Jabaliya in the northern Gaza strip, I finally found her.

At 107 years old, Amna Subih is probably the oldest person in Gaza. For a few dollars or really, whatever you can afford, Amna can tell your fortunes from the residue of a cup of Arabic coffee.Nineteen year old Nazih Salman has sought her help many times.

Nazih Salman: I was complicated, hated those around me --
the house, my friends, my brothers, everyone. The fortune teller spoke using God’s name, so I believed her. She’s an old woman -- a piece of history. I believed her and gave her money.

Hutcheon: For Umm Ahmad there was money coming, for Hussam a girlfriend and for Faisal, a piece of advice – some who pretend to be his friends are anything but.

Over a traditional Arabic meal, my companions share their thoughts with a mixture of scepticism and satisfaction. It was the first time Faisal’s visited a fortune teller.

Faisal: I went to see what fortune tellers do. I heard a lot about what they say – that they can see into the future and know what’s happening around you. So I thought I’d go and try my luck. She said some good things, but other stuff was nonsense.

Hutcheon: Faisal’s friend Nazih swears by the fortune-teller. He claims to have had many brushes with the supernatural including being possessed by a Djinn, what we might call a Genie.

Nazih: His head was like a donkey, his eyes like lasers. I looked at him and I was scared. I felt something had entered my body – but the fear I had wasn’t from my heart, it was from my head. I felt like electricity.

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Hutcheon: Nazih, like many in the Middle East, believes the world is inhabited by Djinni, spirits that most of us can’t see called Djinn. According to the Koran, Djinni were created by God from fire.There are good Djinni and evil Djinni. There are Moslem, Christian and even Jewish Djinni and popular belief is that they seek out weak-willed humans, and may wreak havoc in their lives.

Islam denounces fortune-telling as harmful superstition, but other supernatural practices are extremely popular.Spiritual healing, for example, is booming.

Sheikh Anwar Abu Mahmoud may look unassuming, but claims to possess special powers after he survived a serious illness ten years ago. Now he says he sees what others can’t.

Jane: Where do you find Djinns? Are they roaming all around in this room as we speak?Sheikh: Yes.Jane: Can you see them?Sheikh: Yes… yes.Jane: So how many of them are with us in this room now?Sheikh: Maybe twelve.

Hutcheon: Surprisingly, the Sheikh agrees to demonstrate his exorcism skills on a young man named Fadi who was diagnosed with being possessed by an evil Djinn.

Hutcheon: It took three men to restrain Fadi.Eventually the Djinn is ordered out of his body through his left foot.Sheikh Anwar’s diagnosis was that Fadi was possessed by a harmful Christian Djinn called ‘George’, who originated in Israel.

Hutcheon: Why did the Djinni choose to live in Fadi’s body?Sheikh Anwar: He chose Fadi’s body as a tool, because when he was feeling upset, his weakness enabled the Djinn to enter Fadi’s body.

Hutcheon: Since his body was invaded by the Djinn, Fadi lost his job as a policeman and eventually gave up his all of his hobbies. Even doctors couldn’t help him.

Fadi Hussein: Everything in my character changed. My mother, father brothers and my friends noticed the change. They took me to specialists, to hospitals and clinics, but it was useless because I didn’t have a physical or psychological illness. There was nothing wrong with me.

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Hutcheon: Finally, after many months of suffering, Fadi is back in the gym for the first time.

Until the evil spirits took hold, he’d been a champion Kung Fu practitioner. He said he’d never felt the Djinn within him. But since Sheikh Ahmed’s healing session, he feels like a new man, ready to face another day on Gaza’s battle scarred streets, where Djinni are ready and waiting for other lost souls.

Reporter: Jane HutcheonCamera: Craig BerkmanResearch: Safwat Al Kahlout, KhalidEditor: Bryan Milliss