During my first few weeks in Scotland, Pope Benedict XVI visited. Several days before his arrival the streets were cleared and barricaded. I am not at all in touch with the religious world but was interested in participating in the event for the experience. This image shows the hundreds of bagpipers that played for the Pope’s parade. They are at the edge of the Prince’s Street gardens just out of sight of the Edinburgh castle. This image is important to me because it incorporates aspects of Edinburgh that I became extremely familiar with, such as the gardens, the castle, Prince’s Street, and the occurrence of bagpipers. It also includes aspects that were totally new to me. I had never been part of such a huge parade for one person, particularly of religious nature. The importance of the Pope’s visit to so many of the people around me was certainly new, as I didn’t even know the Pope’s name before hand. The crooked angle of this photo is indicative of how crowded it was. I was being pushed from all sides by onlookers and felt guilty that I was taking up a prime space when so many people around me cared so much more to be near him.