Hanukkah to light up St Andrew Square

From 17:00 tomorrow, Sunday, December 28, festivities to mark Hanukkah will begin in St Andrew Square, Edinburgh. The nine branched candelabrum known as a Menorah will be lit by local grandees.

One of the lesser festivals in Judaism, Hanukkah lasts for eight days from the 25th day of Kislev (in December). The festival commemorates the re-dedication of the Jerusalem Temple in 165 BC by the Maccabees.

Hanukkah is also a time for reflection and rememberance. Rabbi Pinny Weinman - who has organised the event - told The Scotsman that he is dedicating tomorrow's gathering to Jewish victims in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Visitors and locals alike can hear about the history of Edinburgh's elegant New Town with the Old & New Towns mp3 guided tour. The Old & New Towns Edinburgh audio walking tour begins outside Edinburgh Castle. Hear about some of the Castle's rich history, then descend to the Grassmarket - once a site of public executions. Then cross over the Mound, before descending Playfair Steps into Princes Street Gardens.

The two Walk Talk Tour Edinburgh travel guides are narrated by Scotsman Graeme McKenzie. To hear a short audio clip from the Old & New Towns Edinburgh iPod travel guide please click here.

Princes Street Gardens will once again be the centre of Edinburgh's annual Hogmanay celebrations with the Concert in the Gardens beginning at 21:00 on New Year's Eve. Groove Armarda's Tom Findlay and Andy Cato take star billing.

Listeners to the Old & New Towns podcast guided tour will then hear about the National Galleries of Scotland and the Scott Monument. Listeners then walk on into St Andrew Square. The statue, atop its 150ft column, in the middle of the gardens (in the centre of the Square) is of Edinburgh born Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville. Listeners to the Old & New Towns Edinburgh city walking tour will discover how he earned the title ‘Harry the Ninth, uncrowned King of Scotland'.

The Old & New Towns Edinburgh city walking tour concludes with a walk along George Street to Charlotte Square. See the birthplace of a much maligned General and hear about the exploits of a certain Alexander Graham Bell and more.

Each Edinburgh city guide costs just £5.95 each. Customers who purchase both tours at the same time will receive a twenty per cent discount.

Unlike a conventional guided tour, listeners to a Walk Talk Tour Edinburgh audio guide are free to stop, start and listen again to any part of the commentary as they wish - or as their interest or the weather dictates.