Religious Sites of Glasgow. Doors Open Day 2015

Glasgow Doors Open Day, 2015

The annual "Doors Open Day" in Glasgow has been running for 26 years now. Organised by the Glasgow Buildings Preservation Trust it aims to celebrate the architecture, history and people of the city by public talks, walks and open access to many buildings normal closed to the public. This year, endeavouring to see some buildings which I haven't previously visited I seem to have ended up going to several religious buildings for a change. Despite these buildings being such prominent parts of the city skyline I had never before been inside the Glasgow Central Mosque, the 'Greek' Thomson designed St Vincent Street Church or the Catholic St Andrew's Cathedral down by the Clyde. So this is what I saw, arranged for no particular reason chronologically by their religion's origins. Religious bigotry and sectarianism has an ugly history in the west of Scotland, and I have avoided taking any interest in religion, so I apologise in advance for any wild factual inaccuracies in what follows.

Tallits, Jewish prayer shawls

Judaism

Garnethill Synagogue, Glasgow

Judaism is usually dated back to the times of the Biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, over 3000 years ago. Widespread throughout Europe in the modern era, the earliest records of Jewish people in Scotland come from the 1600s. The first openly Jewish graduate of the University of Glasgow was Levi Myers in 1787, forty-eight years after the earliest university graduate in Scotland, Jakob de Castro Sarmento qualified in medicine from Aberdeen in 1739.  The first person buried within the newly laid out Glasgow Necropolis was Joseph Levi, a quill merchant who died of cholera in 1832. This was because the Jewish community of the city contributed to the fundraising when the necropolis was being created, and a Jewish section was designed within it. In the early twentieth century larger numbers of Jewish immigrants arrived in Glasgow, escaping persecution in Europe and Russia. Like the Irish and Italian immigrants to Glasgow they lived in large numbers in the Gorbals area of the city. Glasgow's first synagogue apparently dates from 1823, on High Street. It moved several times before finding a permanent home in Garnethill in 1879 in Scotland's first purpose-built synagogue.

The words carved in Hebrew above the door are from Deuteronomy and translate as "God alone let him, and there was no strange God with him". I am not sure how the calculation works, but apparently the numerical value of the Hebrew letters used in this verse adds up to the date of the foundation of the building.

Inside the Garnethill Synagogue, Glasgow

So, donning the yarmulke I was given at the door to cover my head, I stepped inside. It is strange that I have visited synagogues before on holiday, but never actually been in one in Glasgow. It contains a strange mixture of familiar Victorian Glasgow architecture mixed with exotic extras, evident straight away from the floor tiles in the entrance hallway.

Floor tiles

Downstairs there was an interesting Scottish Jewish Archive Centre, where a group of local Muslim women were having their numerous questions answered.

Catholicism

The Christian church can be dated back to the followers of Jesus Christ and the term 'Catholic' was used from about 110AD. After the East-West schism of 1054 the Eastern church became known as "Orthodox" and followers of the Bishop of Rome "Catholic". In Glasgow St Mungo is said to have founded his church in the 7th century at the site of the Glasgow Cathedral on Castle Street. From the 12th century this was the seat of the bishop of Glasgow and became an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in 1492. In the late 16th century Glasgow Cathedral was one of the few churches which was not destroyed during the Scottish Reformation and passed into use as a Protestant church. The current Catholic Cathedral of Glasgow, St Andrew's Cathedral, was designed in 1814 by James Gillespie Graham. It lies in the city centre on the north bank of the River Clyde, almost overwhelmed by a modern day cathedral of commerce, the St Enoch's Shopping Centre, which sits behind it. Saint Enoch was a saint of medieval Glasgow, the mother of Saint Mungo (or Kentigern as he is also known).

Saint Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow

From the time of the Scottish Reformation in 1560 until the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1791, which restored the freedom of worship, Roman Catholics in Glasgow had to worship covertly.  With industrialisation in the city and increasing numbers of Catholics arriving in Glasgow from the Highlands and from Ireland it was decided to build a church for their use. The Catholic church to St Andrew was completed at this site on Clyde Street in 1816. This was not a trouble-free construction, with saboteurs damaging the nascent building at night in the early stages, requiring guards to be employed to protect the construction site initially.

Interior of Saint Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow

A major renovation project was undertaken between 2009-2011 with new artwork commissioned and the construction of a cloister memorial garden to Italian Scots who died aboard the Arandora Star. This ship was torpedoed and sunk in 1940 whilst carrying "enemy aliens" during the war. Of the 734 Italians on board, 486 died.

As well as St Mungo establishing his church on Castle Street in Glasgow of the 7th century, St Constantine had arrived maybe 100 years earlier, about 500AD, and established a wooden church at Govan. With Glasgow only a small town at this time, Govan was a completely separate hamlet for centuries. The first Govan church was built beside a ceremonial hill and sacred well. The people here were Britons, different from their neighbouring Picts and Scots and Govan means "little hill" in their language. Ironically the hill in Govan no longer exists, as it was flattened in making the industrial Govan we know from the 20th century, to make space for the sheds of the Harland and Wolff shipbuilding company. The kingdom of the Clyde Britons was controlled from Dumbarton (Dun Breatann meaning "fort of the Britons") and was a powerful kingdom in the British Isles after defeating the Scots of Dalraida. In 756 the combined Picts and Nothumbrians ford the Clyde at Govan and defeat the Britons at Dumbarton. The early church in Govan is at the site of what is now called Govan Old Parish Church. Although I have previously read about the Govan Stones, I had never gone to see them before. The church is home to many famous early medieval stones, carved between the 9th and 11th century. One of the earliest is a beautiful stone sarcophagus from around 850AD, carved from a single block of stone.

Carving on the Govan Sarcophagus

Norse Paganism

After a four month siege in 870AD Vikings destroyed the fortress at Dumbarton. The king of the Britons is killed. A new king is appointed and moves up river, becoming based at Govan and a new name appears for the kingdom, "king of the Britons of Srath Clúade (Strathclyde)". The other stones found in Govan Old Parish Church come from the period 900-1100AD.

Five carved Norse "Hogback" stones in Old Gorbals Parish Church

These include carved recumbent stones, free-standing crosses and Norse 'hogbacks'. The hogback stones are usually associated with Viking settlement and suggest that over this period high status Vikings were living in this area. Although Vikings had their own pagan beliefs, in Denmark and Sweden they converted largely to Christianity in the 11th and 12th century. To which gods the Vikings of Govan prayed may never be known.

The 'sun stone'

Around 1000AD the kings of Strathclyde have their palace across the river Clyde in Partick, but worship in the old church of St Constantine at Govan, and use the hill to the east of the church for ceremonial purposes. Their royal graves are in the churchyard at Govan. Around 1050 King David I conquers the kingdom of Strathclyde and takes it into his Scottish kingdom. The importance of Govan fades as he bases religious activity in the cathedral in Glasgow. The royal lands at Partick are taken over by the bishops of Glasgow. Over 500 years the village of Govan grows up around Govan Cross. A new church is built and the gravestones from this time show the trades of the contemporary local residents.

Gravestone in Govan churchyard. Date looks like 1690

After the Scottish Reformation of the 16th century the church here became run as a Protestant church. The village of Govan continued to get bigger and in 1864 was made into a Burgh, with its own administration. Soon the church was felt to be too small for its needs and was replaced with the current building, constructed between 1884-1888. Over the next 50 years Govan continues to boom and grow with the arrival of shipbuilding. The growing town was annexed to Glasgow in 1912. In the same year Harland and Wolff buy three small shipyards and flatten the Doomster Hill to build their slipways and huge worksheds.

Current Old Govan Parish Church

A notable minister of the Govan Old Parish Church from 1930 was Rev George MacLeod. Disillusioned with post-war Britain after the first World War and concerned over social inequality in Scotland he became a Socialist and an active member of the Peace Pledge Union. He resigned his position in Govan in 1938 and set up the Iona Community.

Former fitting out basin of Harland and Wolff,
across the Clyde from the current Museum of Transport

Islam

Muslims follow the Islamic faith, a monotheistic Abrahamic faith which originated in Arabia. The Qur'an is the holy book for Muslims, which was revealed to the prophet Muhammed over 23 years by the angel Gabriel. Muhammed lived from about 570AD - 632AD.

Although many more may have been undocumented, the first Muslim known to live in Scotland was a medical student from Bombay, Wazir Beg, in Edinburgh in 1858. Manufacturing and trade in Glasgow meant that many Muslims arrived in the city working as lascars or sailors. Records from the Glasgow Sailors Home on the Broomielaw from 1903 show that at that time nearly a third of the 5500 boarders were Muslim lascars. Immigrants from South East Asia, particularly Pakistan, in the late 20th century increased the Scottish Muslim population to about 1.4% of the population by 2011. More recent immigrants from Africa, Afghanistan and the Balkans have added to the diversity of this population. The first purpose built mosque in Glasgow opened its doors in 1984.

Glasgow Central Mosque

I have visited some of the smaller mosques of Glasgow before but this was my first visit to the Glasgow Central Mosque, just south of the River Clyde at the edge of the Gorbals. It is one of the most recognisable buildings in the city with its dome illuminated at night and its prominent minaret. The majority of early Muslim immigrants to Glasgow, like the Irish, Jews and Italians before them, lived in the Gorbals area of the city where the mosque was later built. The main hall can accommodate 2,500 people at prayer and will be busy later this week with Eid marking the end of the Hajj.

Inside Glasgow Central Mosque

Taken on a tour of the building, with its adjacent community centre, our Malcolm X quoting guide was at pains repeatedly to clarify misconceptions about Islam. It is clear that some Muslims can feel at times there are constant media reports of their perceived role in all the problems round the world, causing misunderstanding and fear. When he talked about the un-Islamic actions of those fighting their fellow Muslims in Syria just now, it was hard not to see echoes of this in accusations down through the centuries within several other religions. It seems to me that most wars and battles fought in the name of a religion tend to be about power, resources and land once you break it down rather than a battle of ideals. This is the same whether talking about ISIS in the Middle East, the Christian Crusades, the Rough Wooing of Mary Queen of Scots, King Billy and the Battle of The Boyne, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Troubles in Northern Ireland... Take your pick.

Not remembered in the current portrayal of Islam are the contributions Muslim thinkers have given to the world, particularly in science, medicine and mathematics. You only need to think about the origins of the words algorithm, algebra and alchemy to see where they originated.

Protestantism

The Christian church in Scotland means many different things to different people. The Church of Scotland website has an "Historical Directory To Glasgow Presbytery" listing the changes in parishes and churches over the years in the city and it runs to 360 pages if you have an interest in this. The roots of the Church of Scotland date back to the Scottish Reformation of 1560, led amongst others by John Knox, whose statue looks out over Glasgow from a pillar atop the Necropolis behind Glasgow Catherdral. He established a Protestant church on Calvinist principles.

Glasgow Cathedral

Glasgow Cathedral is one of the few medieval churches that survived the Reformation and the current building dates back to the 12th century, allegedly on the site where St Mungo (a.k.a. St Kentigern) built his church in the 7th century. If you want to get an impression of how close it came to being destroyed during the Reformation look at the bullet riddled door in the Sacristy from this time. It was saved because the organised trades of the city took up arms to defend it from the mob intent on bringing it down. The defenders outnumbered the attackers and it survived, "cleansed of its Catholic trappings". The University of Glasgow was founded at this site too, within the precinct of the cathedral in 1451, before later moving west in the city. 

St Vincent Street Church, Glasgow

In contrast to the austere, gothic medieval cathedral, the Glasgow City Free Church have their home in one of the most grand and beautiful creations of famous Glasgow architect Alexander "Greek" Thomson. At the time he rejected the popular Gothic Revival style of many of his contemporary architects, getting his inspiration from Greek Classical styles. Built in 1859 for the former United Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the St Vincent Street Church is currently used by a congregation of the Free Church of Scotland. It is the only one of the three churches Thomson designed which is still in tact.

Interior of St Vincent Street Church, Glasgow

Here you can see the interior which he designed for it too, full of light and space. the decorative motifs inside are more flamboyant than would normally be acceptable in a Presbyterian church. It is so sad to see the empty shell of the Greek Thomson designed Caledonia Road Church sitting in the Gorbals, with its interior destroyed by fire in the 1960s.

Another church that I visited on the Doors Open Day was also commissioned by the Free Church using an innovative Glasgow architect. In 1896 the Free Church of St Matthew, Glasgow commissioned a new church and hall from architects Honeyman and Keppie. The job was allocated to their young, talented, trainee architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Architectural drawings for the Queens Cross Church

Following the beliefs of their religion the design had to be simple, yet Mackintosh managed to handle this beautifully, producing a distinctive, charming, warm and functional building. Queens Cross Church is one I pass whenever I head to see Partick Thistle, whose ground lies just behind the church. Built between 1898 and 1899 it was the only church he designed.

The nave of the Queens Cross Church, Glasgow

 In 1929 the Free Church was reunited with the Church of Scotland, which took over ownership of the Queens Cross church. In 1976 with a declining congregation, the church merged with Ruchill Church and vacated the building, which has become the headquarters of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society.

Mackintosh designed pulpit in Queens Cross Church

In this building Mackintosh designed the interior artwork and fittings too, right down to the communion table, alms dishes and armchairs. His distinctive designs can be seen on the wood carvings of the pulpit.

Sikhism

Topped with their golden domes, there have been two distinctive new additions to the Glasgow skyline in recent years. The first purpose-build Sikh Gurdwara in Scotland opened its doors in 2013, in Polloksheilds beside the Tramway. Another new Gurdwara will also soon be opening soon in Glasgow on Berkeley Street, opposite the Henry Wood Halls. 

Glasgow Gurdwara on Albert Drive, behind the Tramway's 'Hidden Garden'

Sikhism was founded in the Punjab region of India in the 15th century. It is based on the teachings of Guru Nanak (the first Guru) and the ten successive Sikh Gurus. Now the book of Sikh scripture is the Guru and is treated with great respect. The first documented Sikhs living in Scotland are from 1854 in Perthshire. Sikhs date the first Glaswegian Sikhs to the 1920s when a Gurdwara was established in South Portland Street. Further immigration in the later 20th century means that Sikhs now make up 0.2% of the Scottish population, with the largest population being in Glasgow. In the synagogue I had my head covered, in the mosque I had taken my shoes off to enter the prayer hall. Here my head was covered and shoes off to enter the Gurdwara. Our young guide told us with obvious enthusiasm about Sikhism and the Gurdwara and encouraged us to visit the free food kitchen, or Langar, an important part of any Gurdwara.

Hinduism

Although their place of celebration was not open during the Doors Open Day, it seems only fair to also mention the Glasgow Hindu Mandir. Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies and religious cultures and has many deities. It dates to the 6th century BCE and is the religion followed by the majority of people in India and Nepal. The majority of Hindus in Scotland arrived in the second half of the 20th century, many escaping Idi Amin's Uganda in the 1970s. Hindus now make up 0.3% of the Scottish population. I have previously been in the Hindu Mandir Glasgow building at Belle Place, near Kelvingrove Park, for a wedding which was a very laid back, friendly and colourful event. Unfortunately you will have to make do with a photo of the outside which I took when I passed it on my bike today.

Hindu Mandir Glasgow

Summary

In Glasgow I think we are now getting away from the days when the first question a stranger (or someone interviewing you for a job) asked was "what school did you go to?" to work out if you were a Catholic or a Protestant. However we are far from being a city that can preach to anyone about religious tolerance. I sadly think that we are defining people more and more by religion. There is talk of the Muslim population or Jewish community. Religion is only one aspect of a people's culture. I am not a great fan of defining people or a population by their religious views and each religion has a spectrum of differing perspectives and beliefs. Scottish Christians can be a member of the Roman Catholic, Scottish Episcopal, Free Church, United Free Church, Church of Scotland, Free Presbyterian Church, Associated Free Presbyterian Church or the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland. That's just our local ones. People living in the same street, or working in the same factory have much more in common with each other than do a businessman and a shop worker of the same religion.

A lot of people, particularly immigrants, feel a cultural link and connection with a religion. The rituals and celebrations their parents and grandparents enjoyed. I am an atheist but still enjoy rolling eggs down a hill with my children at Easter. I understand the symbolism of it and remember doing it as a child with my own parents, but I don't define myself as a Christian. The diversity of religious institutions in Glasgow that I have visited this weekend just reflects the diversity of Glasgow's immigrants over centuries. From Norsemen to Lithuanians, people from the Punjab and Sri Lanka, Scottish Highlanders, Italians and Irish.

I know it sounds corny to end this way but I agree with the city's current slogan that "People Make Glasgow" and I religion is a small part of the culture of those people, if they wish. So I finished my day in Dowanhill Church, built in 1865. I admired the work of the artist Daniel Cottier who designed its interior, the craftsmen that erected the building and those restoring it. I then had a nice pint of beer and some lunch and wondered if the day will come when all the places I saw today will become museums, theatres, community centres, restaurants and bars.

Cottiers Bar and Theatre, Glasgow

Greenland: The Global Warming Frontline

Greenland 

For a long time we have been trying to organise a holiday in Greenland and finally managed it this summer. The plan was to enjoy an outdoorsy holiday in a place which remains fairly wild and unspoiled. Also it is clear that Greenland will not stay this way forever. As the Arctic ice begins to visibly retreat, oil companies are moving in to try to exploit previously inaccessible northern reserves. President Obama recently approved Arctic drilling in Alaska by Shell, and Greenland has negotiated drilling rights with BP.

The least densely populated country in the world, three quarters of the land mass of Greenland (or Kalaallit Nunaat to the locals) is permanently covered in the largest ice sheet outwith the Antarctic. What towns there are, lie on the coast, mostly on the southwestern part of the island. With no roads linking the towns, transport between them is by sea or by air. The population of this country, which has an area two thirds that of India where a billion people live, is 56,000, roughly the same as Inverness in Scotland. A Danish colony since 1814, Greenland is now semi-autonomous after 75% of the population voted for this in a referendum of 2008. Denmark still contributes approximately $600 million per year to the economy, about a third of the money for Greenland's public spending. Fishing is the main industry in Greenland, but with the receding glaciers and melting ice fields, people are now looking towards exploiting their largely untouched mineral and oil reserves to generate income and finance greater independence.

Local children playing in Ilulissat, Greenland

Greenland has seen successive waves of settlement. The earliest were from peoples from Asia travelling across from the Bering Straits. In 2500BC the Saqqaq people settled in the west around Disko Bay, and they lived here until around 1300BC. Erik the Red and Norse settlers arrived from the east around 980AD and the medieval Icelandic sagas credit him with giving this land the name Greenland, to try and entice other settlers. The Norse settlers left about 500 years later. The Inuit "Thule culture" arrived from the north about 1300AD and are the ancestors of the current native Greenlandic people. Now about 88% of the people are Greenlandic Inuit, the rest largely of Danish descent.

The world's most northerly capital city, Nuuk lies at the southern end of Greenland, a town of 16,000 people situated just south of the Arctic Circle. When we visited Greenland we came further north, to Ilulissat, their third largest town with a population of 4,500 and almost the same number of sled dogs.

Two wolf-like Greenlandic sled dogs, Ilulissat, Greenland

Formerly known as Jakobshavn, the town of Ilulissat lies 220 miles north of the Arctic Circle, on the west coast of Greenland, facing across Disko Bay to Disko Island. Previously in winter this area would be solid sea ice all the way across to Baffin Island and Canada. However every year the sea ice melts earlier and earlier in the year, retreating by about 13% per decade. In 1845 the attempt to traverse the Northwest passage, heading north from here to try to find a sea route above the north of Canada, defeated John Franklin and his men. Now cruise ships can easily make the journey for much of the year. The changes in sea ice also have major effects on the way of life of the northern Inuit peoples. The solid ice that was previously their highways for sled and snow-mobiles, connecting communities and taking them to winter hunting grounds, are no longer navigable for much of the year.

Sea Ice in the southern Greenland Sea, July 2015

When we flew from Iceland to Greenland in July 2015, looking out of the window the first thing that you see is the sea ice lying off the sparsely populated and mountainous eastern coast of Greenland. The ice here has an important role in the circulating sea currents of the northern Atlantic.

Eastern coast of Greenland, July 2015

Eastern Greenland is dominated by the ice cap and steep mountain ranges. 3500 people live on this coast in the isolated towns of Tasiilaq, Kulusuk and Ittoqqortoormiit. Flying over the coast the ice cap is soon seen covering the mountaintops.

Ice sheet of Greenland in the east, covering the mountaintops, July 2015

At its widest point Greenland is about 750 miles across and flying across this all that is visible from horizon to horizon is ice, looking like the surface of an alien planet. The ice cap is 3km thick but currently melting at a rate of 1 metre per year. The problem is that many people now feel that the melting is irreversible. The more that the white ice melts, the less solar radiation is reflected by it into the atmosphere, the warmer the atmosphere then becomes. Also the increased melt water affects the salinity of the northern Atlantic and disrupts the sea currents that control so much of our environment. All indications are that the melting of the ice sheet is accelerating. There is enough water held within the Greenland ice sheet to cause a 7 metre rise in sea levels around the world, so the speed at which it continues to melt will impact upon all of us.

Flying over the Greenland ice sheet, July 2015

Ilulissat and Ilulissat Icefjord

The town of Ilulissat on the west coast of Greenland is positioned close to the opening of the Ilulissat Icefjord. A Danish settlement, founded in 1742 as Jakobshavn, many of the 4500 inhabitants are employed in the local halibut fish processing plant, and now increasingly in tourism. Many also supplement their incomes by fishing themselves, and hunting throughout the year. I was surprised at the sight of many people casually walking about with rifles slung over their shoulder and the crack of distant gunfire was often heard. All through the summer huge icebergs float past the town into the northern Atlantic Ocean from here. The iceberg that is believed to have sunk the Titanic in April 1912 is believed to have been from the glacier here. The Ilulissat Icefjord is now protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a site of international importance.

The town of Ilulissat, Greenland, from the sea, July 2015

Further up the Icefjord, several miles inland, one of the largest outflows of the Greenlandic Ice Sheet from Sermeq Kujalleq, or Jakobshavn Glacier, drains into the sea here, with icebergs "calving" frequently off of the edge of the glacier and into the sea. The icebergs then slowly move down the fjord, which is 1km deep, before becoming trapped at its opening into Disko Bay, where the water is more shallow at about 300m. Once the pressure from behind becomes too great a burst of icebergs floats out into the bay. We were there at the end of July 2015 and two weeks later BBC news carried the story that one of the largest ever sections of ice had calved from the glacier front. The glacier front here moves forwards at 20 metres per day, but the chunk which came away in early August 2015 is believed to be 12.9 sq km in size.

2006 Landsat image showing retreat of glacier "calving front" over 155 years

In the satellite image above from 2006, the retreating front of the glacier can be seen. The glacier lies to the right in the picture with the white tongue of ice heading to the bottom left hand corner being pack ice slowly moving down the icefjord to the sea. The town of Ilulissat lies just north of the opening of the icefjord into Disko Bay. You can see that the glacier front has retreated year on year from the earliest recorded position in 1851.

Jakobshavn Glacier Greenland. Aug 16 2015, after
recent sudden advance in glacier "calving front".

The recent image above is from the NASA Earth Observatory website. Satellite images two weeks apart can be compared on the website showing that a massive chunk of the glacier has now broken off into the icefjord. All over the world it is clear from recordings by scientists that the speed of glacier retreat is at "historically unprecedented" levels. What the images above unequivocally make clear is this happening in real time. Dictionaries may need to redefine what "glacial pace" now means.

Disko Bay full of icebergs, at Ilulissat, Greenland. 20th July 2015

Local people told us that the day before we had arrived there was almost no ice in the bay off of Ilulissat, but that a huge iceberg which was blocking the outflow of the icefjord had moved in the night with a rush of icebergs behind it. What is clear now is that two weeks later, with the cork from the champagne bottle removed, further back in the icefjord this allowed the huge chunk to fall from the glacier, witnessed in NASA's satellite images.

Tourists enjoying the ice at Ilulissat

We had come to Greenland from a cold wet summer in Scotland, prepared with waterproofs and warm fleeces for our Arctic trip. We unexpectedly spent the few days we had there wandering around in T-shirts and putting on suntan lotion. With 24 hour sunshine at that time of year, the midday temperature never fell below 15 degrees centigrade. In the warm sunshine we enjoyed some of the local football matches and went for long hikes out towards the icefjord, past the remains of the pre-historic settlements.

Icebergs visible at the end of one of the streets in Ilulissat, Greenland. July 2015

Zion's Church, Ilulissat, with Disko Island 30 miles off in the distance

The brown, wooden Zion's Church in Ilulissat dates originally from about 1781. It is a familiar site from many photographs of Greenland, with huge icebergs often passing behind it. A large anchor beside the door of the church is a memorial to those who have lost their lives at sea, a not unusual occurrence in these waters. 

Iceberg in the bay at Ilulissat, July 2015

Some of the icebergs can be several hundred feet high and only when close to them do you realise how much of their size lies beneath the water. The "white ice" is made from compacted snow, whereas the more dangerous "black ice" is made from re-frozen melt water. It is more dense and lies lower in the water and a local, upon whose boat we took a trip into the bay, told us that this is the ice which sinks the boats of the unwary in these waters.

Iceberg in the bay at Ilulissat, July 2015

As the icebergs melt, and chunks fall off into the sea, they tilt and change shape as the weight shifts, sometimes flipping right over. This can cause sudden unexpected waves to crash onto the shore or boats which get too near. In the photo above you can see the algae which grows on the underside of the icebergs. This in turn feeds the krill, which is food for the many fish and whales that frequent these waters. So changes in the ice will impact on the local environment in many unpredictable ways.

Humpback whale swimming between the icebergs in
Disko Bay, Greenland. July 2015

Whale watching trips can be booked in Ilulissat. As these take several hours to get far enough out towards the areas which whales commonly frequent we didn't bother booking one, but whilst just out in the bay on a short boat trip were lucky enough to see two humpbacked whales swimming about, near to the coast. Like seals, whales are hunted by the local people and seal meat and whale meat were available alongside many fish, at a stall in the town centre. Greenland has been granted an "Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling" quota by the International Whaling Commission. Greenlanders hunt mainly minke whales and fin whales, but in 2014 seven Humpback whales were also killed.

A couple of Ilulissat locals admiring the midnight sun. Greenland. July 2015

In summertime in Greenland the sun never sets. At the latitude of Ilulissat the sun does not set below the horizon from mid-May until the end of July. By contrast in winter, after weeks without sunlight, the people of Ilulissat head to Sequinniarfik, a hill near the town, on January 13th each year to celebrate the return of the sunlight.

The rest of the photographs below are some that we took on hikes towards the icefjord and on a flight over the calving front of the glacier. Known locally as Sermeq Kujalleq, this glacier is one of the few from which the ice of the Greenland ice cap reaches the sea. The only other place in the world where glaciers calve icebergs in this way is in the Antarctic.

View across the land towards the icebergs in the Ilulissat Icefjord. July 2015

Many well maintained hiking routes allow you to walk out from Ilulissat town towards the icefjord. Only then does the true scale of the icebergs become apparent.

Hiking out towards the Ilulissat Icefjord, July 2015

Panoramic view of the Ilulissat Icefjord. July 2015

From above the pack ice in the icefjord looks solid enough to walk upon, but it is constantly moving and unsteady. The moving glacier continues to cut the solid rock of the fjord, gouging it deeper. Looking down on the landscape here you can see in action the forces which sculpted the landscape of Scotland thousands of years ago, when our country was covered in glaciers.

Icefjord viewed from the opening into Disko Bay. Greenland. July 2015

From these photographs below it is hard to picture the scale of the glacier. The ridges on the surface appear to be hundreds of metres high, like cliff faces, and vanish off towards the horizon.

Surface of Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn Glacier), Greenland

Surface of Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn Glacier), Greenland

Ridges on the surface of Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn Glacier), Greenland

Although it is hundreds of metres high, the calving front of the glacier, which NASA witnessed retreating the week after our visit, can appear indistinct as the pack ice in the deep icefjord in front of it presents your eyes with a continuous white mass of snow and ice. When ice does break off it is accompanied by distinctive shotgun cracks and deep rumbles.

Calving front of the Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn Glacier). 20th July 2015

Calving front of the Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn Glacier). 20th July 2015

Calving front of the Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn Glacier). 20th July 2015

After leaving Ilulissat our return flight to Iceland first flew down the west coast of Greenland. Although nowhere else we passed had the dramatic icebergs breaking off from the ice cap, the melting of the ice can be clearly seen, with melt-water channels forming new rivers carrying silt down to the sea.

Melt-water channels on the western coast of Greenland. July 2015

Melt-water channels on the western coast of Greenland. July 2015

We had an unforgettable trip, but were also conscious that we were watching a landscape and a way of life which may soon be gone forever. A Greenlandic official, heading the Office of Self-Governance in 2008 is quoted in Naomi Klein's book "This Changes Everything. Capitalism vs The Climate" as saying

"We're very aware that we'll cause more climate change by drilling for oil. But what should we do? Should we not when it can buy us our independence?"

The more that the world continues to rely upon fossil fuels the greater will be the rate of global warming. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Greenland and the Arctic where the environment has already changed within my lifetime. An exhibition in Ilulissat Art Museum included enlightening interviews with local people, giving their views on climate change. They could all see it happening and were aware of changes in the sea ice and hunting opportunities. Some commented sadly that last year hadn't felt like Christmas as by December it still hadn't snowed in the town. However many were happy to see their lives, which can be very tough in this environment, become easier. We cannot preach to countries or peoples who are in the frontline of these environmental changes. We cannot ask them to accept sacrifices for the benefit of us all, when we are carrying on as before.

In the recent Scottish independence referendum of 2014 a weak point in the independence arguments was an over-reliance on the oil industry as a future source of income for our country. The same argument is obviously being made in Greenland, where their reserves are likely to be more vast and untapped than Scotland's now are. The questions of what would happen to the fishing industry of Greenland were an oil spill from drilling to occur, and the huge difficulties capping such a leak would create in this environment, here or in Alaska, have not yet been answered.

The Arctic is being damaged by climate change and by the threat of oil drilling. In Glasgow we maybe feel that our winters are getting wetter and the summers maybe getting less sunny, but in Greenland you can see change happening in front of your eyes. As a tourist travelling to the area in an airplane powered by fossil fuels I know that my curiosity is contributing to the global problem, whilst the local people are striving to draw in more tourists to help their economy. This shows the problem that the world faces. Increasing demand for rare minerals and fossil fuels is leading to financial incentives in those nations that can access these resources, and further hastening environmental damage.

I knew that I was heading to Greenland to find out what was happening to the environment there, I just didn't expect to come home and find it making the news a week later. Yet despite that important story that I mentioned above, this in fact got very little news coverage anywhere else. We all know things have got to change, but all vaguely hope that something will turn up. Capitalism doesn't work that way. Whilst profit remains the only incentive, we may as well start building higher sea defences now, and yet again the poorest countries are going to come off worst in that situation.