Edinburgh owes its existence to the Castle Rock, the glacier-worn stump of a long-extinct volcano that provided a near perfect defensive position guarding the coastal route from northeast England into central Scotland. (picture above is Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, taken by Zunie.)
Back in the 7th century, the Castle Rock was called Dun Eiden (meaning "Fort on the Hill Slope"). When it was captured by invaders from the kingdom of Northumbria in northeast England in 638 AD, they took the existing Gaelic name 'Eiden' and tacked it onto their Old English word for fort, 'burh' to create the name Edinburgh. So know you know why its pronounced - Edin-burr.
