Trans-Siberian 13: Kazan City Tour - Moscow

"If you want to change the world, start with yourself...” - Mahatma Gandhi

(Beautiful turquoise blue Masjid Qul Sharif in Kazan)

Day 13: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Route: Kazan City Tour
Train Route: Kazan to Moscow (12 hrs)

Our last breakfast here at the Kazan Palace Hotel by Tasigo was Omelette and potatoes with Russian bread rolls. It was a sunny 4°C morning here in Kazan when we started the city tour.

(A heavy breakfast early in the morning)

(Fooling around with the mirror on the ceiling)

First stop was to The Kazan Central Market where all sorts of fruits, vegetables and local produce were sold.

(Kazan Central Market outdoor stalls)

(Neatly arranged dried fruits)

(Colourful fruits on display)

We passed the University of Kazan where Leo Tolstoy and Lenin studied. Lenin lasted for three months because he was expelled due to his off campus student leadership activities.

(University of Kazan)

(Vladimir Lenin Monument)

Next visit was to the Kazan Kremlin. It is the chief historic citadel of Russia, situated in the city of Kazan. It was built at the behest of Ivan the Terrible on the ruins of the former castle of Kazan khans. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000.

(The statue of a Tatar poet and resistance fighter)

(Musa Jalil tied with barb wires)

(Relief of faces on the wall outside Kazan Kremlin)

(A walking tour inside the Kremlin)

(Historical and architectural buildings in the Kremlin)

(Towers, churches and museums)

Qul Sharif is a mosque built in the Kazan Kremlin in the 16th century named after Qul Sharif, who was a religious scholar. Qul Sharif died along with his numerous students while defending Kazan from Russian forces in 1552 during the Siege of Kazan, and the mosque was destroyed by Ivan the Terrible's forces. It is believed that the building featured minarets, both in the form of cupolas and tents.

(Qul Sharif Mosque)

(The original mosque was destroyed by Ivan the Terrible)

The current building is a replacement, constructed in the first years of the 21st century and completed in the year 2005. The Qul Sharif mosque features eight minarets and is divided into two floors, one for the Muslim worshippers and the other for the tourists to explore and learn about the history and culture of Kazan and Tatarstan. The Kremlin mosque walls are engraved with the verses of the Holy Quran and richly decorated with ornamental braids. We performed our solat Zohor/Asar here.

(Displays of calligraphy, mosaics and ornaments)

(Viewing area on the upper floor)

(Beautiful decorative tiles in the washroom)

The most conspicuous landmark of the Kazan Kremlin is the leaning Söyembikä Tower, which probably goes back to the reign of Peter the Great. A well-known legend connects the tower with the last queen of the Khanate of Kazan.

(The leaning tower of Soyembika)

(Beautiful yellow tulips and the leaning tower)

We had lunch at Ashkazan Canteen in the Kazan Kremlin. It was a cafeteria style restaurant serving halal food. We had veal cutlet with curried rice and grilled perch with pumpkin soup.

(Canteen style restaurant)

(Panoramic view of the city)

(Fantastic views from the observation deck)

After visiting the Kremlin, we headed to the Tartar Village. We passed the Puppet Theatre of Kazan where fantastic repertoire of fairytales and performances for children are performed by Ekiyat, one of the oldest theater troupes in Kazan.

 

(Puppet Theatre of Kazan)

Tartar Village Complex was opened in honor of the 1000th anniversary of Kazan in 2005 and it is situated in the heart of the city. It is a real cozy village with small wooden houses and a pond. Also known as Tugan Avylym, there are restaurants and cafe with a real wood-burning stove.

(Tartar Village Complex)

(Neat vibrantly painted houses)

(A real village of Tartar wooden houses)

(The devil and the dragon)

(Nicely decorated house/restaurant)

(A mural on the wall)

In the Old Tatar Quarter there are a total of 75 monuments of history and culture of the 18th – 20th centuries which form the settlement.

(Tartar old village along the bank of Lake Kaban) 

(Monument to the Tartar scholar Shigabutdin Marjani)

We visited the Marjani Mosque in the Kazan Tartar Old Quarter. After several decades of persecution of the Muslims in Imperial Russia, the Märjani Mosque was the first mosque built in Kazan under Russian rule. It is the oldest active mosque in Tatarstan and the only mosque in Kazan that evaded closure during the Soviet period.

(The Islamic Forum in on-going in Kazan)

(Delegations of the Islamic Forum visiting the old mosque)

(Marjani Mosque in Tartar old quarters)

(The model of the old mosque)

The mosque was built in traditions of the Tatar medieval architecture combined with provincial baroque style, and it represents a typical Tatar mosque. Märjani Mosque is two-storied and has two halls. The interior is designed in The Petersburg Baroque style. The mosque is currently named after Tatar scholar Şihabetdin Märjani who worked there as imam in the mid 19th century.

( The layout map of the Tartar old quarters)

(Ladies in red at the Marjani House)

(The replica of Shigabutdin Marjani's house)

Back to the hotel to retrieve our luggage. By 1645 hrs the van sent us to Kazan Train Station. Estimated time of departure was 1811 hrs and we had ample time to board the premium double decker train from Kazan to Moscow. This was the fourth and final phase of our Trans-Siberian train journey which took approximately 12 hours.

(Boarding the premium double decker train to Moscow)

(Complimentary dinner with fruit basket and chocolate bars)

We had a complimentary dinner of cod fish with red velvet cake on board.

👈👈Day 12: Kazan, Bolgar, Russia

Day 14: Moscow, Russia👉👉