The most popular event at the three-week Edinburgh summer festival takes place every evening

in front of an old castle that stands on a hill above the city. Thousands of visitors watch as bands
march to the sound of bagpipes and drums. In attractive kilts - each in the pattern, or tartan, of a
clan - the marchers make a very colourful picture.
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. It is an old city, but not the biggest (Glasgow is twice as (big).
From the top of the hill the castle looks down on the Old Town with its lovely houses 10 to 14
stories high. As people here like to say, "Edinburgh had skyscrapers three centuries ago when
New York was still a village". Farther on is the Palace of Holyroodhouse, home of Mary, Queen of
Scots, whose son James VI of Scotland also became James I of England (1603). In another part of
the city were the homes of famous people like inventor Alexander Graham Bell, writers Robert
Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott. Edinburgh has long been a university town - since the 16th
century, although this is not the oldest university in Scotland (St. Andrews, 1411).
A land of mountains, Scotland has only a very small part - between Glasgow and Edinburgh -
which is good for farming, and most people live and work here, since it was also the centre of
indus-try: Now many people are finding jobs in electronics, a new industry here. Off the coast of
Scotland there are many islands. Probably the best known are the Shetland Islands because of
the small ponies that are favourites with children who are learning to ride.As in many countries,
football is very popu-Jar, but did you know that, besides whisky, the game of golf also originally
came from Scotland?Edinburgh has twelve golf courses!