Orthodox Christians mark Palm Sunday in the Middle East - in pictures

Worshippers took part in events to celebrate the start of Orthodox Easter

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  Boy scouts carry a float with a girl dressed as Disney character Snow White during a procession for Palm Sunday at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross in the Qasaa district of the Syrian capital Damascus. AFP

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  Boy scouts beat drums as they participate in a Palm Sunday procession in the Dwelaa area of Damascus. AFP

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  Boy and girl scouts march with palm fronds during the procession in Dwelaa. AFP

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  Worshippers attend a Palm Sunday service at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Umm Al Noor in Erbil in the Kurdish region in northern Iraq. AFP

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  A choir sings during the church service in Erbil. AFP

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  A child watches as people attend a Palm Sunday mass in Cairo, Egypt. The number of worshippers was limited because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Reuters

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  A young Coptic Orthodox Christian wears a hat made of knitted palm fronds as worshippers circle the Edicule at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the place where it is believed Jesus Christ was buried. AFP

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  An Ethiopian Orthodox Christian uses her phone, which bears the image of the Virgin Mary with Jesus, to film proceedings during Palm Sunday celebrations outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. AFP

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  An Ethiopian Orthodox Christian wears a palm frond knitted into the shape of a cross outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. AFP

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  Christian pilgrims touch the Stone of Anointing and pray during the Palm Sunday procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. About 300 million Orthodox Christians around the world observe Holy Week. EPA

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  Greek Orthodox clergymen attend the procession in Jerusalem. Palm Sunday in when many churches symbolically mark the biblical account of the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. EPA

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  Worshippers sit apart during a Palm Sunday mass in Cairo, Egypt. Reuters

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  A worshipper attends Palm Sunday celebrations at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. AFP

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  Christians gather to mark Palm Sunday at the Church of the Nativity in the occupied West Bank. AFP

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