Heinblog: Edinburgh

Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. You can see Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano, rising up above the city in the center of the picture.

Statues of Scotland's great kings and thinkers dot old town.

The entrance to St. Giles' Cathedral, where John Knox used to preach.

A flattering statue of the notoriously obese Hume.

Edinburgh is a town built of stone, and its many hills makes for an interesting cityscape.

One of Edinburgh's many pubs. The White Hart Inn is supposedly the oldest.

Edinburgh Castle sits on one end of the royal mile, perched above the city. Holyrood Palace is at the other end.

A view of the royal mile hill

Arthur's Seat is right behind the Holyrood Palace

Edinburgh lies at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, an estuary where many Scottish rivers meet.

Edinburgh is actually Scotland's second biggest city. Glasgow has over 100,000 more inhabitants.

Edinburgh castle has endured an estimated 26 sieges over its 1000 year history.

A group of churches and residences reside in the center of the castle.

Mons Meg is one of the largest cannons ever made. It was given to James II, King of Scotland, in 1454 by the Duke of Burgundy.

This hand cannon was made in by the Scottish in 1642. The Scots modeled it after canon used by Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus in the 30 Years War. This cannon was in use until 1826, where is was captured from Indians using it to defend the city of Bhartpur from British conquest.

A print from 1781 making fun of the quality of British Army recruits.

The thin red line of Highlanders staving off a Russian calvary charge during the Battle of Balaclava in 1854

Holyrood Palace was a royal residence since the 16th century, and still serves as the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland.

Holyrood Palace was originally an abbey that was destroyed over time due to Edinburgh's continuous religious and political conflicts.

The Queen has a garden party at Holyrood every year.

Dolly the Sheep resides in the National Museum of Scotland.

Stone carvings of the ancient inhabitants of Scotland

Some Christian symbolism can be seen on the carvings, but I don't remember any birdmen in the Bible.

The Picts had their priorities straight.

The carynx, a war trumped used by the tribes of Scotland that fought the Romans

A battle between Picts and Anglo-Saxons ~685 A.D.

A depiction of Roman soldiers

Roman cavalry helmets found in Scotland

Silver chain jewelry made from melted down Roman silver.

More religious stone carvings

The inhabitants of Scotland were illiterate until the 5th/6th centuries

The Scots were actually Irish invaders of Pict lands during the 4th/5th centuries.

Famous medieval chess pieces made of walrus ivory

The Bute mazer, made after Robert the Bruce defeated the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, shows the coats of arms of the main Scottish houses.