Trans-Siberian 15: Moscow City Tour - Doha, Qatar

"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that is it too low and we reach it..." – Michelangelo

(Monument to the heroes of WWI)

Day 15: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Route: Moscow, Russia - Doha, Qatar
Flight: QR338 ETD SVO 2350 ETA DOH 0515

Breakfast at the hotel restaurànt. We checked-out this morning and kept our bags in Fauzi's room.

Another day of Moscow Tour started with taking the Metro and stopping at a few picturesque Metro stations such as Partizanskaya, Kurskaya, Komsomolskaya, Novoslobodskaya and Kuntsevskaya Metro Stations.

(Partizanskaya Metro Station)

(Komsomolskaya Metro Station)

(The two of us in the Metro station)

(Novoslobodskaya Metro Station)

(Mosaic Art of Mother and child)

(Kievskaya Metro Station) 

(Large mosaic art featuring Russo-Ukrainian unity)

(2014/2024: Same location, same pose)

We disembarked at the 5th Metro station and walked to Victory Pobedy Park, one of the main sights in the west of Moscow. It is located on what is known as Poklonnaya Gora, Submission Hill, as historically this was where guests coming to Moscow were expected to bow down and pay homage. It was also where Napoleon waited in vain to be handed control of the Kremlin by the Russians after capturing the city.

(Monument to the Soldiers of WWI)

(Victory Day Captured Tanks Exhibition)

Although the park is in honour of the Soviet victory in the Second World War, it was only officially founded in 1995. Today it is an important venue for Russia's Victory Day celebrations on 9 May where veterans gather and are thanked and given flowers by younger generations.

(Celebration in honor of Soviet victory)

From Victory Park, the van took us to Sparrow Hill, a hill on the right bank of the Moskva River and one of the highest points in Moscow, reaching a height of 80 m above the river level. The main landmarks of the hills are the Moscow State University, at one time the tallest building in Europe, and the Trinity Church. The Sparrow Hills were renamed Lenin Hills in 1935 after Vladimir Lenin. The historic name was restored in 1999.

(Pink and red tulips are blooming in the fields)

(A couple of guys are missing)

Moscow State University is a public research university in Moscow, which includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Alumni of the university include past leaders of the Soviet Union and other governments.

(The Olympic Stadium is across the Moscow river)

(The view of Moscow skyline from Sparrow Hill)

Next we ride the Cable Car from Sparrow Hill crossing the Moscow River to the Olympic Stadium and back. The Vorobyovy Gory station is located on Kosygina Street near the observation point. In winter, this area is a ski slope. The second station, named Novaya Liga, is located on the Vorobyov Kaya Embankment. It is mostly used by skiers and snowboarders to get back up the hill. Luzhniki station is located on the Luzhnetskaya Embankment near the stadium.

(Moscow Cable Car Station)

(The upper cable car station)

There are 35 covered gondolas with eight seats each. The gondolas have media screens, LED illumination, and hooks for bicycles, skis, and snowboards. Passengers are also able to use audio guides in four languages (English, Chinese, German, and Russian). The cable cars can carry up to 1,600 passengers every hour and it runs all year. The system is built to withstand wind and precipitation.

(Descending to the middle station)

(Crossing the Moscow River)

We had a hearty lunch at Uzbekistan Restaurant at the Usachevskiy Agro Market. This market is a hybrid establishment where fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and seafood are sold alongside food outlets. The history of Usachevsky Market dates all the way back to 1932, when it comprised a few street market aisles. In 2016 this market got a revamp and today it is a hotspot for the hipster foodies who come here to try out little eateries serving Georgian, Uzbek, Italian, Israeli and other cuisines.

(Built in 1934)

(A hot spot for hipster foodies)

(Varieties of halal cuisines to chose from)

(Beef pilaf and steaming hot dumpling soup)

(Rows of fresh products  meat, fish, veggies, fruits and dairy products)

We performed Zohor/Asar prayers at the Cathedral Mosque, the main mosque of Moscow, located close to the Olympic Stadium in the centre of the city. The original mosque known as Tatar Mosque was built in 1904 because its congregation consisted mainly of ethnic Tatars. The old mosque was demolished on 11 September 2011. One of the reasons for reconstruction was that the building deviated by several degrees from the direction to Mecca. A new mosque has been built at the site of the former one. It was officially inaugurated on 23 September 2015. The new mosque has the capacity of ten thousand worshippers. Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey and Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine together with local Muslim leaders participated in the inauguration ceremony of this mosque.

(The Cathedral Mosque of Moscow)

(The mosque was under construction when we were here in 2014)

(The exterior views of the mosque)

(The main prayer hall)

(Several other sections of the mosque)

(The mosque cafetaria)

Back at the Ismailova Beta Hotel we had early dinner of a takeaway classic shawarma from a halal food outlet near our hotel. Five from the group departed around 1800 hrs to the train station for their onward journey to St. Petersburg. By 2000 hrs the van sent the rest of us to Sheremetyevo Moscow International Airport for a red eye flight to Kuala Lumpur with a two hour transit in Doha, Qatar.

(The Sheremetyevo Moscow International Airport)

Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport is one of four international airports that serve the city of Moscow. It is the busiest airport in Russia, as well as the 11th-busiest airport in Europe. The airport comprises six terminals, four international terminals, one domestic terminal, and one private aviation terminal. It is located 29 km northwest of central Moscow.

(Ready to board the plane)

(Four couples will be flying back to KL)

We had Chicken sandwich dinner on board Qatar Airways Flight 388 to KUL via Doha, Qatar.

(On the Qatar Airways Flight to Doha)

👈👈Day 14: Moscow, Russia

                   Day 16: Doha - KL✈️👉👉