Photographs: Murad Sezer/Reuters
Many parts of the Middle East have been covered in a blanket of snow, a rare event in this part of the world. The winter storm spread over parts of Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestine shutting schools, roads, and businesses in many places.
Rediff.com presents a slideshow on how people of the region are coping with the rare December snow.
Click NEXT to see more PHOTOS...
PHOTOS: It's an unusual December in the Middle East
Photographs: Amir Cohen/Reuters
A dog stands in the snow at a park in Jerusalem.
Snow fell in Jerusalem and parts of the occupied West Bank where schools and offices were widely closed and public transport was paused.
Click NEXT to see more PHOTOS...
PHOTOS: It's an unusual December in the Middle East
Photographs: Amir Cohen/Reuters
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men walk on a snow-covered road in winter in Jerusalem.
Click NEXT to see more PHOTOS...
PHOTOS: It's an unusual December in the Middle East
Photographs: Yazan Homsy/Reuters
A man walks past debris from damaged buildings covered with snow in the besieged area in Homs.
Click NEXT to see more PHOTOS...
PHOTOS: It's an unusual December in the Middle East
Photographs: Amir Cohen/Reuters
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men roll a snowball after a snowstorm at a park during winter in Jerusalem.
Click NEXT to see more PHOTOS...
PHOTOS: It's an unusual December in the Middle East
Photographs: Baz Ratner/Reuters
Flamingos stand in their enclosure during snowfall in winter in Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo.
Click NEXT to see more PHOTOS...
PHOTOS: It's an unusual December in the Middle East
Photographs: Darren Whiteside/Reuters
A man covers himself with a plastic bag near Damascus Gate outside Jerusalem's Old City during a snowstorm.
Click NEXT to see more PHOTOS...
PHOTOS: It's an unusual December in the Middle East
Photographs: Nour Fourat/Reuters
Free Syrian Army fighters play with snow in Raqqa, eastern Syria.
Click NEXT to see more PHOTOS...
PHOTOS: It's an unusual December in the Middle East
Photographs: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters
Syrian refugees play with snow during a winter storm in Zahle town, in the Bekaa Valley. The worst of winter is yet to come for 2.2 million refugees living outside Syria and millions more displaced inside the country. A storm named Alexa is sweeping across Syria and Lebanon, bringing with it high winds and freezing temperatures - and marking the beginning of the third winter since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011.
In the tented settlement a few kilometres from the border in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, more than 1,000 people live in rudimentary shelters.
Click NEXT to see more PHOTOS...
PHOTOS: It's an unusual December in the Middle East
Photographs: Yazan Homsy/Reuters
A view of Khalid bin al Walid Mosque covered with snow in Homs.
Click NEXT to see more PHOTOS...
PHOTOS: It's an unusual December in the Middle East
Photographs: Darren Whiteside/Reuters
The snow capped Dome of the Rock in the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City, is seen from the Mount of Olives.
Schools and offices in Jerusalem and parts of the occupied West Bank were widely closed and public transport paused after heavy snowfall.
article