중동 지역의 겨울: Wintry Weather: Middle East Edition

Wintry Weather: Middle East Edition

Following up on yesterday's essay Wintry Weather, Here are photographs of the unusually heavy winter storm that just blanketed many Middle Eastern countries in snow. A wide range of unique images, from Saudis tossing snowballs to Israelis on sleds to the newly white roofs of Istanbul. Gathered here are a handful of those images, showing that, despite the harshness of the storm, some were able to find a moment of joy in the rare snowfall.

Boys play in the courtyard of the Sultanahmet mosque, known as the Blue mosque, during a snow storm in Istanbul, Turkey, on January 8, 2013.(Reuters/Murad Sezer) 

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man covered with snow walks in Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013. Jerusalem was transformed into a winter wonderland after heavy overnight snowfall turned the Holy City and much of the region white, bringing hordes of excited children onto the streets. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) 

Snow covers the Dome of the Rock at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the old city of Jerusalem on January 10, 2013.(Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) 

A man plays with snow after a heavy snowstorm in the desert, near Tabuk, 1500 km (932 miles) from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on January 9, 2013. (Reuters/Mohamed Alhwaity) 

Men play with snow after a heavy snowstorm in Amman, Jordan, on January 10, 2013. Snowstorms and heavy rain have caused the closure of main streets in the capital Amman and other cities over the past two days. (Reuters/Ali Jarekji) 

Flamingos in their snow-covered enclosure in Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo, on January 10, 2013. The worst snowstorm in 20 years shut public transport, roads and schools in Jerusalem on Thursday and along the northern Israeli region bordering on Lebanon.(Reuters/Ronen Zvulun) 

Snow falls as an ultra-orthodox Jewish man prays at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, on January 10, 2013. Stormy weather conditions continued on Thursday with snow, torrential rains and strong winds across the region. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) 

Iraqi youth play with snow in the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, on January 10, 2013. (Shwan Mohammed/AFP/Getty Images) 

A man uses a tablet computer to film the Saar waterfall on the slopes of the Golan Heights, during stormy weather, on January 8, 2013.(Reuters/Ammar Awad) 

Rescue workers help a family, in Jadra south of Beirut, Lebanon, on January 7, 2013. Lebanon was hit with a snow storm that has blocked roads in the mountains and brought heavy rain showers to the capital Beirut and other coastal areas since Sunday.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) 

A Syrian refugee removes water and mud around his tent at the Zaatari refugee camp, near the Syrian border with Jordan in Mafraq, on January 9, 2013. Thousands of Syrian refugees are appealing for help after three days of rain and winter storm left them battling mud, water, freezing temperatures and increasing misery. (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP/Getty Images) 

A seagull stands on Galata Tower, on January 9, 2013. Heavy snowfall blanketed Turkey's commercial hub Istanbul, a city of 15 million, paralyzing daily life, disrupting air traffic and land transport. (Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images) 

The Russian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem's old city, as snow falls on January 10, 2013. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images) 

Men play with snow after a heavy snowstorm in Amman citadel, on January 10, 2013. Snowstorms and heavy rain have caused the closure of main streets in Jordan's capital Amman and other cities over the past two days. (Reuters/Ali Jarekji) 

A Palestinian man prepares to throw a snowball outside the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the old city of Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013.(Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images) 

A man walks through tombs covered by snow in Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) 

Jordanians walk past snow-covered cars and trees in Amman, on January 10, 2013. (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP/Getty Images) 

A Palestinian youth throws a stone towards Israeli forces under snowfall during clashes which broke out after Israeli settlers from the nearby Esh Kodesh settlement cut Palestinian farmers' olive trees on January 10, 2013 in village of Qusra, south of the city of Nablus. Israeli settlers opened fire in the northern West Bank wounding two Palestinians in separate incidents, Palestinian security forces and witnesses said. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images) 

Jewish men pray at the Western Wall as snow falls in the old city of Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013.(Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) 

Ultra-orthodox Jews enjoy the snow in the Mea Shearim religious neighborhood of Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013.(Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoys the snow with his family in Jerusalem, on on January 10, 2013.(Avi Ohayon/GPO via Getty Images) 

A Palestinian poses for a photograph on a snow-covered lion statue in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on January 10, 2013.(Reuters/Mohamad Torokman) 

Children play with snow in the Syrian capital of Damascus after a heavy snow fall, on on January 10, 2013. Snow carpeted Syria's war-torn cities but sparked no let-up in the fighting, instead heaping fresh misery on a civilian population already enduring a chronic shortage of heating fuel and daily power cuts. (Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images) 

A Palestinian youth walks on a snow covered hill while protecting his face from tear gas during clashes with Israeli forces after Israeli settlers from the nearby Esh Kodesh settlement cut Palestinian farmers' olive trees on January 10, 2013.(Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images) 

The Syrian capital of Damascus under a blanket of fresh snow, on January 10, 2013. (Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images) 

A Palestinian man stands next to a snow sculpture in the shape of an M75 long-range Hamas rocket at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the old city of Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images) 

Syrian refugees sweep snow off a tent supplied by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in al-Marj, in the eastern Lebanese Bekaa Valley, on January 9, 2013. Stormy weather sparked widespread flooding, prompting chaos on the roads and a nationwide school closure. The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is already totaling 156,000, according to UN figures, and 200,000 according to the Lebanese government estimates. (Hassan Jarah/AFP/Getty Images) 

Ultra-orthodox Jews enjoy the snow in the Mea Shearim religious neighborhood of Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013.(Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) 

An Israeli jumps with a snowboard in Jerusalem's French Hill neighborhood, on January 10, 2013. The worst snowstorm in 20 years shut government offices, public transport and schools in Jerusalem and along the northern Israeli region bordering on Lebanon on Thursday.(Reuters/Baz Ratner) 

A picture taken from one of the highest buildings of Istanbul shows the city covered with snow, on January 9, 2013.(Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images) 

A girl enjoys sliding on snow in the Ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighbourhood of Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013.(Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) 

Palestinian children play in the snow in east Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)