Historic snow fall turns Holy Land into the scenes we see in Christmas cards with first flakes for 100 years

Snow falls across much of the Middle East as worst blizzard in 60 years hits the region

Police block roads into and out of ancient holy city

Snowstorm Alexa brings Egypt's main Mediterranean ports to a standstill

Temperatures plummet below freezing across Syria, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon

Concern mounts for plight of two million refugees fleeing Syrian civil war




It's a festive scene that's adorned countless Christmas cards... and, for once, the Holy Land actually became a snow covered winter scene.

The ancient city of Jerusalem, which normally basks in fierce heat, was dusted with a light covering of snow during a freak blizzard.



And snow fell on the streets of Egypt for the first time in 112 years as one of the worst winter storms to hit the Middle East in living memory set in.

The rare sight of pristine white precipitation greeted stunned residents of Cairo this morning who took to social media to express their shock at the unsettling weather in the usually sweltering capital.

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Icy blast: The Western Wall compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel, today was covered with snow as temperatures plunge below zero

Frozen: Palestinian worshipers walk near the Dome of the Rock at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem following a snowstorm

Festive: Jerusalem's Old City following a snowstorm, seen from the Mount of Olives, today The blizzard, which has been named Alexa, forced Jerusalem into lockdown today after more than 50cm of snow was dumped on the region. The unusual weather system brought travel chaos and disruption to much of the region. People had to abandon their cars and seek emergency shelter as the snowstorm brought transport to a standstill. Police set up roadblocks on routes in and out of the ancient city. Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv was shut earlier this morning and Egypt's main ports on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea remained closed for the third straight day due to bad weather. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next Mission complete: Prince Harry and his fellow adventurers... Could there be life on Europa? Hubble spots 100-mile high... The £25bn Chinese waterway in Nicaragua that will be THREE... Share this article Share Israelis were told over media and public broadcasts today not to enter or leave Jerusalem and some 1,500 people were evacuated from stranded vehicles overnight, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

Three emergency centers were set up and medics treated 350 people for cold-related symptoms, Rosenfeld said. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said he asked the military for assistance.

Devotion: Amid the snow and icy temperatures, a Palestinian worshipper gets ready to pray in front of the Dome of the Rock in the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City

Snow fun: Young Palestinians throw snowballs at the Jaffa Gate at the Old City of Jerusalem, after the worst blizzards in 60 years swept across the region Cold blast: A Palestinian man rides his horse in the snow after heavy storms continued throughout Israel on Friday, causing traffic disruptions and power outages across the country Playtime: A Palestinian child plays in the snow brought by the unusually severe blizzard, dubbed Alexa

Rare snow also fell in Cairo's suburbs, the port city of Alexandria and a blanket of white covered St. Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai.

The cold weather was part of a storm, dubbed Alexa, which has been pounding much of Lebanon and parts of northern Syria since Wednesday, pushing temperatures below zero and dumping snow and heavy rains.



The snow has heaped another layer of misery on the already grim existence of many of the more than two million Syrians who have fled the civil war raging in their homeland.

Shock: Stunned Egyptians woke up this morning to find snow on the streets for the first time in more than a century these pictures show Madinaty, 40kms east of Cairo



Chaotic: Vehicles are seen stranded in snow in Jerusalem after transport links ground to a halt due to heavy snow

Worship: An Ultra-Orthodox Jew prays at the the snow-covered compound of the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem today

The weather even featured in talks between visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he was briefed on the emergency measures.

Kerry, a former Massachusetts senator, said the snow made him feel 'at home'.



'I have heard of making guests welcome and feeling at home. This is about as far as I've ever seen anything go... giving me a New England snowstorm,' Kerry said as he viewed a snow-covered Old City of Jerusalem with Netanyahu.

Cold comfort: A woman swims in the pool at the David Citadel Hotel during a snow storm in Jerusalem today

Beast of burden: Ice covered stray donkeys stand outside in cold weather in Karlik village of Karacadag region located in Siverek district of Turkey's Sanliurfa province in Southeastern Anatolia region

In the West Bank and Gaza, U.N. relief teams offered emergency services to the worst-hit communities.

In Gaza, which was experiencing its first snow in a decade, more than 500 people were evacuated from their homes, according to Hamas spokesman Ihab Ghussein.

Egypt's state MENA news agency said the country's two Mediterranean ports near the city of Alexandria and two ports on the Red Sea remained closed for the third day Friday.

The report quoted the head of the Alexandria port authority, Adel Yassin Hammad, as saying the decision was taken to avoid possible accidents in the ports.

Egyptian young people build what could quite possibly be their first ever snowman in Cairo