My journey to
Kazan, Tatarstan aboard the new double decker train would take just under 12
hours. I was excited as I had been on all types of different trains throughout
Russia, but this promised to be a different experience! The train was beautiful
and my compartment on the second floor was gorgeous. Since I always travel with
a heavy bag and don’t like another person in the cabin I bought out the cabin.
Since I had it to myself I put my big suitcase on the other bed. When the
stewardess came around to check on me she was a bit irritated that my bag was
on the other bed saying that the spot must remain “clean”. After she saw that
I’d bought the cabin out she apologized and was fine with my bag wherever it
was.
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| Kazan's Railway Station |
I visited
Kazan several years earlier but since I never can do things just once, I had to
go back and experience it again. Supposedly Kazan had changed some since I was
last there in 2011 due to the 2013 Summer Universiade, a summer Olympics type
games for university students. So I was looking forward to seeing the change.
When I arrived in Kazan it was mid-morning and I was in fair shape having slept
most of the night on the train. In order to get to my hotel I decided against
using the taxis that were right there at the train station and instead used
Yandex taxis and/or the car service Maxim.
I first tried
Yandex taxi. I’d used the service before and it was pretty solid. I entered in
my destination and pushed send. I waited a while for my taxi but figured
everything was fine. Just when I was about ready to call the competition and
cancel my order, it popped up on my screen that my taxi had come. Wait what I
thought………I looked around for the license plate number and make of the car and
I saw nothing. I looked everywhere and no sign of the taxi. Finally I received
a call from Yandex saying they were connecting me with the driver. That’s
always dangerous for me as the drivers always speak very fast and I have a hard
time understanding them. This time was no different as the driver was nearly
yelling into the phone asking me questions I could not understand. I explained
to him in clear Russian exactly where I was. He said he’d try to find me.
After several
calls to clarify exactly where I was he never found me. I tried the next car
service, Maxim, and ran into similar problems. It was not as if I was in a
remote place, I was standing on the sidewalk nearest the train station. Finally
I furiously gave up and decided to take a regular taxi that’d charge me many
more times the rate I’d’ve gotten with Yandex or Maxim. It wasn’t that I
couldn’t afford a taxi, it was pride and the feeling of not getting ripped off
that made me avoid a regular taxi in the first place. But I figured the day was
moving fast, so I may as well just eat the cost and my pride and get to my
hotel.
To my surprise
my hotel was only three blocks from the train station and in all the time I
spent wrestling with the car services I could’ve been there. I guess that’ll
teach me to do my research! I gave the hotel name to the taxi driver, which was
an Italian name, Hotel Giuseppe. He had no clue about the name. I may as well
have said Hotel California and maybe I would’ve had as much a chance of getting
there. Luckily I had my phone and was able to read him the address.
Finally after
a morning of extreme drama and the ordeal of just getting there I was finally
in my room! Unlike in Moscow where I put down my stuff and took a nap I was not
going to let time slip away from me in yet another city. So after a brief time
in my room I set out to see the city. The location of Hotel Giuseppe could not
be any better!! It is located only steps away from Kazan’s Kremlin and about
two blocks up from the pedestrian shopping street. My first stop would be
Kazan’s Kremlin.
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| Kazan's Kremlin |
Kremlin or
Kremel’ in Russian means fortress so although the most famous kremlin is
located in Moscow, there exist dozens more kremlins throughout Russia. Unlike
Moscow’s kremlin, which is red, Kazan’s is white, however there was a time back
in medieval days when The Kremlin was white. Unlike Moscow’s Kremlin, which
costs about $10 to enter, Kazan’s is totally free and easy to get into. It’s
not quite as big as its sister in Moscow and maybe not as glamorous but that
doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a lot of things to see.
The first
highlight of Kazan’s kremlin is similar to Moscow, a famous clock tower, The
Savior Tower. In Moscow The Savior Tower is best known for it chime and how on
New Year’s Eve it rings 12 times to usher in the new year. But unlike in Moscow
where their tower is red, Kazan’s is white. Once you pass underneath The Savior
Tower, two buildings inside the Kremlin really stand out to you, The
Annunciation Cathedral and The Qol Sharif Mosque. Both are stunning, but the
mosque with its incredible blue and white minarets definitely takes the cake as
the more incredible of the two. It is also the newest addition to Kazan’s kremlin
having been built in 2005. One of the most incredible facts is that the
mosque’s dome was so heavy that it had to be helicoptered in order to complete
the mosque. Unlike many landmarks, which are beautiful on the outside and ho
hum on the inside, the mosque’s inside does not disappoint, see picture at bottom. The beauty is
absolutely incredible and costs nothing to enter. Even better you are free to
take photographs wherever you like, which many orthodox churches prohibit. As
for The Annunciation Church it is very beautiful but just does not have that
wow factor that the mosque does. Besides the mosque and cathedral, the other
real highlight inside Kazan Kremlin is what is known as The Leaning Tower of
Kazan, Söyembikä Tower, just a few meters beyond the mosque and
cathedral. It was built during Ivan The Terrible’s time and along with the
mosque serves as the city’s most well known landmark. 
Although Kazan
is not quite as big as Moscow that does not mean it lacks a lot of the big city
amenities Moscow has. One of its best qualities is a fairly new metro built in
2005. The stations are flawless with some beautiful Islamic art. The metro gets
you to both of Kazan’s most well known landmarks, the kremlin and its
pedestrian shopping street, Baumana Street. The
price cannot be beat, about 30 rubles which translates out to about $0.50. For
access to Kazan Kremlin from the metro, you need to ride to the end of the line
to Kremlyovskaya station. Right outside of the station is a great statue of
Kazan’s symbol, the dragon and a wonderful view of the mosque towering above
the kremlin, an excellent spot for a photo!
That evening I decided to try something
new food wise. I had noticed a Turkish Café on the pedestrian street and my
friend from Turkey, Tulay, had always encouraged me to try Turkish food so I
figured this would be a good choice. When I walked in I was rather amazed at
the interior decorations. Instead of pictures of such famous Turkish landmarks
as Istanbul’s Haga Sophia or Blue Mosque or the capital city of Ankara they had
pictures of New York City landmarks!! What the hell I thought. Last I checked I
was in a Turkish restaurant not an American one. Despite the confusing décor,
my meal was delicious, Turkish kebabs with yogurt. To this day I still yearn
for good grilled kebab drowned in yogurt. If you want to try some delicious
Turkish food, the name of the café is pretty simple to remember, Turkish Café,
on Baumana Street about halfway down the pedestrian mall. Prices are reasonable
and seating is widely available. 
The pedestrian street has some
wonderful shops that have a wide array of Russian souvenirs and uniquely Tatar
and Muslim like souvenirs. I picked up a small replica of Kazan’s Kremlin
Savior Tower and a green prayer rug. I stumbled upon a gigantic huge life size
matryoshka doll right outside the store. It was beautiful! I so wished could
have bought it, but it was likely not for sale and would be just a bit hard to
fit inside my suitcase since it was the size of about half a dozen suitcases.
Someday maybe, who knows!
The following day I would visit a
rather unusual landmark, The Temple of All Religions about 20 so miles outside
of town in a small village. The temple is incredible with a combination of
colorful copulas and domes. According to an article on the American news site,
The Daily Beast, the eccentric architect and psychic supposedly saw Jesus
Christ appear to him on the banks of The Volga. Christ gave him the order to
construct this incredible temple and he devoted 20 years of his life to
building this stunning landmark. Unfortunately the temple is not open to the
public. Supposedly you used to be able to make an appointment to go inside, but
appear those days are long gone. So, you will just have to enjoy the view from
the outside. I recommend if you want to see the temple to take a taxi from
town, which should cost a bit over $10 round-trip. Ask the reception at your
hotel for a taxi to The Temple of All Religions or find the address and enter
it into Yandex car hire or Maxim car hire.
Another eccentric landmark I hit up on
my trip to Kazan was The Kazan Family Center viewpoint. The name sounds benign
enough, but the actual building itself looks like a huge and very tall UFO that
landed out on a spit of land. It was not exactly central to the city itself so
it’d take some planning to get to. I really did not feel in the mood to take a
taxi and it looked pretty far to walk so I figured I’d take the Kazan Metro and
walk the 15-20 minutes from there.
After taking the metro and walking
15-20 minutes in the cold wintry Kazan weather I finally arrived at my
destination. My goal was to go up to the top of the UFO the Family
Center to the viewpoint for an excellent look at the city. Last time I was in
Kazan this building wasn’t yet constructed, so this would be a new experience. I
was excited and looked forward to getting a great view of the city. I arrived
and noticed several limos in the parking lot. Then I noticed a bride and groom
walking around taking pictures. No big deal I thought. That is until I got
inside. There in the lobby area was a huge party going on. I noticed a security
guard and asked how I got to the viewing deck. He said it was closed for the
wedding! CRAP I thought, I walked all the way here and it is closed for a
wedding. WTF! I was quite angry. Not sure why I was surprised, in Russia it
seems everything is always difficult. Things are always either closed,
forbidden or just impossible. I could’ve retraced my steps back to the metro
but I decided I’d use my angry energy to walk the two miles back to town
instead.
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| Inside the mosque |
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| Kazan's leaning tower |
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