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

By Tom Gardner

PUBLISHED:16:19 GMT, 13 December 2013| UPDATED:20:38 GMT, 13 December 2013

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.

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, todayThe 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.

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 Jerusalem

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.

Shock: Stunned Egyptians woke up this morning to find  snow in Cairo

First snow in a century

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