Suddenly, I realized that I live in the biggest country in the world and still hadn’t been anywhere in it beyond Moscow and Saint Petersburg. On the bright side, that was relatively easy to fix by travelling to Kazan.
My wife Ksenia works in healthcare. Her colleagues were going on a group trip and invited her to join; I decided to come along too. Travelling around Russia had mostly meant taking a train to Saint Petersburg, and I was curious to go somewhere further east. This time I flew.
The programme largely followed what the women from her work wanted to see: churches, churches, churches. To me, churches tend to look much the same wherever you go. I was glad we got to see a few other things too.
I also felt unwell for part of the trip and spent quite a lot of time resting in our room. At the Temple of All Religions, I felt strange and wondered whether I was getting a fever.
Still, it was an exciting journey, and the city appeared to be pretty unique. Look at the pictures yourself :)
All the domes
The artist Ildar Khanov started building the Temple of All Religions, trying to reconcile different people through architecture. Construction is still in progress, and from the outside it looks as though there isn’t any particular overall plan to follow.
It reminded me of the Sagrada Família, only in a much more eclectic, garish form. All those domes, towers, and colours crowded into one building.
Across the water
The Volga here looked more like a sea. The Kuybyshev Reservoir was created in Soviet times and is the largest reservoir in Europe.
One of the most beautiful ways to get to the other side of the river is by ferry. There are a lot of ferries here, and you inevitably meet a few of them on your way. Feel free to wave to them!
I did, of course. It was fun: whenever two ferries passed one another, there was this strange feeling of river brotherhood.
The ferry carried both cars and people. I watched the cars and thought how odd it was: you drive onto a bridge, and then the bridge sails to the other bank with you on it. An unusual experience for someone from Moscow who doesn’t often take ferries.
Sviyazhsk
One of the must-visit places near Kazan is the town of Sviyazhsk. There are a lot of old churches here, and they look very authentic.
A big church once stood near the wooden cross in the photos below. The Nativity Cathedral was destroyed in Soviet times; its remains are still underground. Maybe someday it will be reconstructed.
Even if you’re working for God, you need to place the antenna somewhere. It’s understandable.
The Kremlin
Back in Kazan, it’s a little bit strange to see empty streets in the centre of the city.
One of the most exciting facets of Kazan for me is the mix of Christianity and Islam. Of course, Moscow has mosques too, but I don’t often see them there. Seeing a mosque and an Orthodox cathedral inside the same fortress felt unusual.
The monument shows two nameless builders of Kazan’s fortress. One is a Russian guy with an unrolled drawing of the Spasskaya Tower, and the other is a Tatar holding a rolled-up plan. The rolled-up scroll represents the work of the Kazan Khanate’s builders that hasn’t survived.
I’m used to official buildings looking fairly formal. I thought the enormous building down by the river might be a museum, a theatre, or some very fancy shopping centre. It was unexpectedly beautiful.
The most massive edifice in the first photo below is the Palace of Farmers. It’s a fucking ministry of fucking agriculture!
The things added later
They also have a leaning fortress tower, Syuyumbike, and a beautiful (no) legend to go with it. It’s corny as hell, so you can make up another one of your own.
One of the things I like to observe is how the future intertwines with the past. All these little details like downpipes, sockets, and antennas. All the stuff which is missing, for obvious reasons, from the original design of the building.
I’ve always found the usual “me in front of a landmark” photographs a bit strange: people standing stone-faced in front of something famous. I like noticing the things that are ordinary to the people who live there. Different traffic lights, manhole covers, types of housing I’ve never seen before. I want to photograph those too; the famous places already get plenty of attention.
A long road along the city walls, all the way to the gate. Imagine being greeted from above with arrows, boiling pitch, and other hey-go-away-stuff.
Never thought it was possible to see such a hipster-styled advertisement for monastery bread. But here it is. Keep it that way, folks!
Around the city
A beautiful old-time balcony somewhere in the city.
