Iona

About 100 people live on Iona and most of these inhabit the village of Baile-Mor which means "large town". On a clear day the view from Dun-I a 332ft/101m high hill behind the cathedral encompasses over 30 islands.

The monastery on Iona was destroyed on more than one occasion by Vikings, but it was always rebuilt. About 1200 Reginald MacDonald founded a Benedictine monastery on the site of the old abbey. The chancel and parts of the 13th C Norman chapel are still intact.

The "Street of the Dead" runs westward to St Oran's Cemetery, Scotland's oldest Christian graveyard, where more than 60 Scottish kings are buried. Among the graves are those of Kenneth MacAlpin, who unified Scotland, Macbeth and his victim Duncan; all the tombstones, however, were thrown into the sea at the time of the Reformation.

Opposite the west portal of St Mary's Cathedral stands the imposing St Martin's Cross (10th century). This 14ft/4.27m Celtic cross was built as a memorial to St Martin of Tours. The much-admired sculpture shows figures, animals and the holy family.

St Mary's Cathedral is a red granite building which was started in the 12th century in predominantly Norman in style, but it has been enlarged on several occasions and so displays a number of different styles. The oldest part of the cathedral is the northern transept. The square tower (70ft/21.34m) rises up at the intersection of the nave and transept and is supported by four Norman arches. The ornately decorated column capitals in the chancel show demonic figures, floral ornamentation and biblical motifs. The adjoining convent and other buildings which were formerly part of the cathedral have been restored by the Iona community, a charitable organization embracing many faiths, whose members live and work on the island during the summer.