Israeli Christians and thousands from all over the world marked Good Friday in Jerusalem earlier today. The holiday, which marks Jesus' crucifixion and according to believers, his resurrection the following Sunday (Easter Sunday), is one of the most important days for the world's 2 billion Christians.

The Old City of Jerusalem plays an extremely important part in the story of Easter, as Jesus was said to have been crucified and subsequently resurrected in the spot which is now the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Earlier today, thousands of pilgrims attempted to follow the New Testament's account of Jesus' final moments, in which he carried his own cross in which he was to be crucified on. Known as the Via Dolorosa, Latin for "The Way of Suffering." 

The traditional Good Friday procession of holding up wooden crosses and chanting prayers along the 14 points of the Via Dolorosa took place earlier today, with the final point being Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Later today, a traditional Mass is due to be held in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, which tradition holds to be the place of Jesus' birth.

As both Passover and the Easter holiday coincide near-perfectly this year, there is expected to be a dramatic increase in tourism, with Israel's Ministry of Tourism expecting 150,000 visitors to land in the Holy Land this week.​