Scotland is For the People

We left Istanbul at the right time. On our last day, I noticed increasing military presence while we were walking around Taksim and left the area sooner than planned. Later, I saw that street on the news as a site of a mass protest because another set of political opponents (the secular ones) were arrested. A few protestors were also arrested. International news channels were off the air, and there was an attempt to take the local news channel I was currently watching off the air as well. We flew to Edinburgh the next day.

Edinburgh is as I remember it from almost 15 years ago. The sand-colored bricks and sloping, interwoven layers that define the topography of the city are still incredibly beautiful. It still has the spooky aura I loved so much when I was last here. 

Scotland has been "for the people" longer than many other places in Europe, and you can see traces of this everywhere. When I spent an unexpected extra hour at the National Library, I learned that the Scottish government provided funding for Frederick Douglass, Moses Roper, Josiah Henson, and other American abolitionist writers for their contributions to the struggle for freedom. They also funded Beth Junor, Yellow Gate Camp, and other feminist activists.

I learned that the first printed works in Scotland weren't religious texts--they were poems and stories written by Scots. 

Later, at the National Gallery, I learned that by the mid-19th century, Scottish artists were painting scenes of the everyday life of working people, and selling this art to middle class folks in addition to aristocrats and royalty.

The paintings with more dynamic movement really stood out to me:

The Schule Skailin, by Sir George Harvey, shows the end of a school day.

The Curlers, by Sir George Harvey, shows the newly popular sport of Curling, which was starting to eclipse golf as Scotland's most popular and socially inclusive sport. This painting shows people of all social classes playing together. It had also been recently introduced in Canada by Scottish emigrants.

Selling Fruit, by Walter Geikie, is one of the many snapshots of life he drew on his regular walks around Edinburgh. He was deaf, and is known for his powers of observation, especially expressions and gestures.