SCOTLAND

INDEX 1-Physical Description: 1.1 Situation 1.2 Climate 1.3 Inhabitants 2-History 3-Cuture: 3.1 Language (1st & 2nd) 3.2 Religion 3.3 Sports 3.4 Food 3.5 Music4-Famous people and places

1- PHISICAL DESCRIPTION Scotland is known for its mountainous and beautiful

scenery. Scotland has got a lot of rivers, mountains, lochs and a total of 787 islands. Scotland is in many respects a very beautiful country.

1.1 Situation Scotland is one of the four countries that forms the UK. Scotland

occupies one third of Britain(78,772 square km.) The mainland is divided into three zones:

-The Uplands -The Lowlands -The Highlands The island portion is divided into three archipelagos: -The Hebrides -Orkney -Shetlands

1.2 Climate    The climate is temperate. Scotland's temperature is the

lowest of Britain. Scotland is a cloudy and windy country all the year, and “The Highlands” is one of the wettest places in Europe.

1.3 Inhabitants     Scotland has a population of about 5,062,011 inhabitants.

The majority of the population lives in Central Belt, a plain zone that includes cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh.

2-HISTORY The history of Scotland begins with the end of the ice age, when

people began to live there. The written history begins with the arrival of the Roman Empire in Britain, when the Romans occupied the actual England and Wales. The north wasn’t governed by the Romans, and Scotland wasn’t as developed as other countries.

Since the beginning of the eighth century until the thirteenth century the Celts were in charge of the Scottish crown. Because of its geographical location , they had closed ties in the south, the Baltic countries and the European continent, and its maritime trade routes became big and strong.

After the Industrial Revolution Scotland became one of the commercial and industrial powers of Europe.

3-CULTURE

3.1 Languages The first language in Scotland is English, and the second is

Scottish, followed by Scottish Gaelic. English is spoken mainly in the Lowlands.

3.2 Religion In Scotland the prevailing religion is the Christianity, but not

everyone professes a religion; a big part of the population is Catholic. There are also Jewish, Islamic and Hindu communities.

3.3 Sports The most popular sport is football. The most important football teams in Scotland are Celtic Football Club and Rangers Football Club. St. Andrews is internationally known as the "home of golf“, and for a lot of golfers of the Old Course, St Andrews is like a place of pilgrimage. There are many other famous golf courses in Scotland. Rugby is also very popular in Scotland. The Scottish team participates in the Six Nations tournament.

3.4 Food Some of the traditional meals of Scotland are the Scotch broth (made with barley, meat and vegetables) and the porridge or meat cakes. The haggis is also considered the "Scottish national meal“. The haggis is like a sausage but with lamb or venison, and It is traditionally eaten during the "Burns Supper" on

25th January.

3.5 MusicScotland is internationally known for its traditional music, and the bagpipe is the musical icon of Scotland.Many outsiders associate

Scottishfolk music with the bagpipe, which has played an important part ofScottish music. The earliest mention of bagpipes in Scotland dates to the15th century although they could have been introduced to Scotland asearly as the 6thcentury.Folk music takes many forms in a broad musical tradition, althoughthe dividing-lines are not rigid, and many artists work out of borders. Culturally, there is a division between the Gaelictradition and the Scots tradition. The oldest forms of music inScotland are the Gaelic singing and harp playing. Although much of theharp tradition was lost , the harp is being revived by contemporaryplayers. Later, bagpipe appeared on the scene. The original music of theBagpipe is called Piobaireachd; the classical music of the bagpipe.

4-FAMOUS PEOPLE AND PLACES The most famous places in Scotland are: -Glasgow: The Science Exhibition & tower, Kelvingrove art gallery and museum, Glasgow cathedral and Provand's lordship... -Edinburgh: Edinburgh Castle,Royal , Palace of Holyrood, Holyrood Park… -Perth -Stirling: Stirling Castle, Argyll's Lodging, The Jail... Famous people of Scotland: Scotland has given rise to many famous people, notable in the arts, literature, the sciences and as inventors, philosophers, and architects . Current Scottish celebrities: -Tilda Swinton -Gerard Butler -Ewan McGregor -Sean Connery And more...