Three faces Russia. One that looks to the West, St. Petersburg. Another, pointing to the East and is the Tatar capital, Kazan. And Moscow, which is in the middle.
But if the former imperial capital and the current Russian capital are well known tourist destinations in Europe, the emerging Kazan, capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, has just emerged from the shadows as a thriving metropolis with ambition to become the largest European center of the Muslim world.
Earlier this year, the mayor of Kazan won the right to use the nickname officially trademarked third largest city in Russia. That, it is hoped, will overcome the current figure of about one million hits year tourist attracting more European travelers. An additional argument to achieve this would be the fact that Kazan is the first stop on the famous Trans-Siberian railway, which crosses part of Moscow in 15 days across the country to reach Vladivostok.
's ambitious promotional campaign of Kazan as the third largest city in Russia has received a new impetus. Has left the European stage as the new focus of Russian football. The local team, Rubin, who last year won for the first time the Russian championship, will play in the same group of Barca's Champions League.
Anything goes to get attention. In 2005, Kazan held with pomp the thousand years of its foundation, opened the first subway line and finished building the largest mosque in Europe. The Qul Sharif mosque, built following a Turkish architectural model has four minarets is 57 meters high and a large blue and white dome 39 meters high.
But perhaps the highlight of Qul Sharif is to be lifted in the very heart of Kazan Orthodox faith, within the white walls of the local Kremlin in 2000 was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site. That neighborhood, which has no analogues in Russia, is a symbol of Kazan in the two major living religions officially recognized Russia: Islam and the Orthodox faith.
The surprising combination of the two cultures that alternates huge domes of medieval Orthodox cathedrals, elegant minarets is the key to the unforgettable charm that has this city. Kazan-marking. Who once looked down the hill from the Kremlin to the dizzying panorama of the vast Volga River will remember forever.
The difference with other Russian cities note upon arrival. All signs and posters are written in Tatar and Russian. No wonder, since the Tatars and Russians make up almost equal halves of one million local people. In addition, there are neighborhoods where there are only written in Tatar. But even in these Russian zones or language does not cause rejection. At first glance, one gets the impression that Kazan, before the Muslim capital is a metropolis of tartar. The local style is best noted in the numerous clubs and national cuisine, much like the Asian.
adopted Islam as a religion in 922. In the thirteenth century, the Golden Horde, formed by the Mongols, conquered the present Tatarstan. Later, the Golden Horde was divided into several states, of which the largest was the Khanate of Kazan. In 1552, Ivan the Terrible conquered it for the Russians.
In this last and final conquest born the main architectural symbol of the city, Suyumbiké tower, which was named after the last queen of Kazan. According to legend, Tsar Ivan fell in love with the beautiful tartar and asked her hand. The woman said that this was built in just seven days, the tallest tower in the city. After one week, the building was complete. The queen went up "to see the big picture," but suddenly he leaned down to not belong to the conqueror. The Tsar ordered moved to call the tower Suyumbiké. Interestingly, the Cathedral of St. Basil, associated with the Kremlin in Moscow, was built by Ivan the Terrible to commemorate the conquest of the Khanate of Kazan.
the early 90's, most of the downtown was composed of wooden buildings. But during the last decade, 100,000 people have been relocated to new quarters in the context of a municipal program. In this forced exodus followed the disappearance of a large part of the architectural heritage. Many old buildings were destroyed, and then lifted into place modern copies.
The few surviving houses are concentrated in Bauman Street. This pedestrian zone is a deliberate copy of the Arbat street in Moscow where there are many souvenir stands outside.
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