August 11, 2015 Kazan, Russia Tour

Today was a “free” day in Kazan.  We have a walking tour of the city, and then are on our own for the afternoon. 

Our day began with the news that our first granddaughter, Emma Kathryn Fick has made her entrance into the world.  Her birth did not go smoothly.  Her Mom, Anna, had some pain during normal contractions an the doctor noticed stress in the baby, so delivered by C-section.  Due to significant anemia and breathing problems, the baby was air lifted from Oak Harbor to Seattle Children’s Hospital.  Our son, Michael drove from the Naval base where he is stationed (NAS Whidbey Island) as a pilot, to Seattle Children Hospital, where Emma was taken for NIC services. We are awaiting news on her status and hoping that she, Michael and Anna will soon be reunited.

Kazan's founding occurred more than one thousand years ago, as evidenced by remains uncovered in the kremlin.  A kremlin is the generic Russian term for a walled are where the major buildings were built and protected, much like a very large castle.  It was established by the Volga Bulgars, and later conquered by the Mongols.  They eventually intermixed and under the Russian Czars, eventually becoming known as the Tartars.  Today Kazan is the capital of the Tartarstan republic of Russia.  It is also known as the “Third Capital of Russia”.  Republics are similar to states in the U.S., with governors or presidents, and some local autonomy.  Russia is divided into 85 federal subjects (constituent units) and 22 are republics.  Republics generally represent areas of non-Russian ethnicity.  The often have their own official language and constitution.  In Tartarstan, Tartar is a recognized language.

A little park near out hotel has a fountain in the shape of a cauldron.  This is the symbol of Kazan – because, although the origin of the name is uncertain, some accept the legend that it comes from the Bulgar word, qazan, meaning  cauldron.

This statue celebrates the Kazan-born opera singer, Feodor Shalyapin.  He was baptized in the blue domed church behind the statue.  The tall tower on the right is the bell tower for the church.


Kazan has a long central pedestrian walkway with shops, restaurants and souvenir shops.  It has a classic look, but mostly modern materials and construction.  It is the Russian model location for international sporting events.  For example, the world championships of swimming were held here the week before our arrival.  The city of 1.2 million people is also home to a major university, so the streets are alive and vibrant.  

Find the real pigeon

This tent/kiosk is selling T-shirts with Putin’s image.  He is very popular here.

This is the restaurant where we ate last night.  It is essentially a large banquet hall, quite fancy in an over-done way, but the food was good, if you like horse meat.  Yep, I said it - horse meat is a staple here.

The menu had many traditional Tartar dishes.  This is one of them.  Horses here are raised for food much like cows are in our country.  The majority of the items on this menu, from appetizers and salads, to main courses, had some mention of horse.

 This display gives the distances to the capital and countries.

Moscow

New York

Alaska

Catherine The Great was very much loved by the people of Kazan.  This is a depiction/brass replica of the golden carriage she used to arrive in Kazan.

Kazan has 8 theaters.  This is the one located on the promenade.

Many of the older buildings (early 1900's) are in various states of restoration for retail, hotel or apartments.

St. Peter and Paul Church was built for Czar Peter the Great’s 50^th birthday, by a wealthy Kazan merchant.

It has a lot of Italian influences that are not seen in any other Orthodox church, as pictured in the grape and vine decorations. 

The interior shows more of the Italian influence and

also the same hierarchy of orthodox icons.

Next we went to the Kazan Kremlin

In front is the monument to Musa Dzhalil, a Tartar poet.  He was executed by the Nazis in 1944 for his participation in an underground resistance movement.

Janis (our Russian-speaking guide who lives in Riga, Latvia) enjoys the view of the Volga from the kremlin walls

We entered through the Spassky Tower behind us.

Just inside the gate is a mural that shows the layout of the fort.  Our Kazak guide, shown here, was very knowledgeable and spoke good English.

A few buildings remain from the 18^th and 19^th century.  When the Russians conquered the Tartars they destroyed all the mosques in Kazan.

A new mosque was started in 1996 and completed in 2005. 

The mosque has 8 towers.

Like all mosques, the crescents point east towards Mecca.

Inside is equally beautiful.  We were required to put coverings over our shoes, women covered their heads, and anyone in shorts had to put on a wrap to cover up.

In Arabic, there are 99 ways to describe Alla.  All 99 are represented inside the mosque.  Some are in the blue and gold circles surrounding the dome.  While quite fancy-looking, the overall feel is that there is minimal history, and a lot of glitter, with less substance than other mosques we have seen.  This is probably a function of being newly constructed.

 An orthodox church is also located inside the kremlin walls.

And again, the devoted come, stand and pray before the icons.

Because there is both a mosque and a church, there is no external call to worship for either denomination.  The Islamic call is made from inside the mosque, and the bells are located inside the church (look in the center arch).

A statue dedicated to Russian and Tartar architects.  The Tartar is standing and his plans are rolled up, signifying the destruction of the Tartar buildings when the Russians conquered the area.  The Russian is seated and his plans are open, because the buildings still stand.  The city residents are quite proud of the peaceful intermix, roughly equal, of Christian and Islamic faith here.

 The kremlin overlooks the Volga and Kazan River.

A big cauldron – symbol of Kazan

Kazan has its own leaning tower.

Now a little lesson in the Russian language, via fast food restaurants.

We still do not know how to say Starbucks in Russian, but the symbol is easy to follow.

Tomorrow we will get back on the motorcycles and travel to Ufa, further east.  A full day in Kazan was a nice respite, but enough to get the picture and we are ready to push on!