Kazan!

So I haven’t posted anything new for almost two months, which is a shame, as a lot has happened since November 12^th!

I suppose the most noteworthy events have been my travels. Late November, I traveled to Tatarstan, a region of Russia that is known for the Tatar ethnic group. We traveled mainly to Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, whose population consists mainly of ethnic Russians and ethnic Tatars. The city is equal part Muslim and Russian Orthodox.

An overnight journey by train.

It’s a beautiful city, more so than I expected. Our hotel was a ten-minute walk from the White Kremlin and the whole area was beautiful, with wide canals and old churches. The weather was very cooperative; we saw blue sky for the first time in ages. The Kremlin was beautiful, the white walls stood vivid against the blue sky. The mosque was absolutely awesome, in the true sense of the word, but I was disappointed to find out that it was only built seven years ago. I bought an exquisite hand-embroidered silk pillowcase and a hand-embroidered belt, both done in the traditional Tatar style. They also sold lovely handmade colorful leather shoes, also traditionally done, but the only pair in my size were white, which I would never wear.

Canals, which rival those of St. Petersburg

The White Kremlin 

Ok, so the weather wasn't that great the first day. It was the day I didn't take photos, of  course :(

View from Kremlin

Kul Sharif Mosque

Annunciation Cathedral of Kazan Kremlin, 1561–1562

More views

            We also visited a little island that is set in the Volga River, about an hour outside the city. This was a real highlight of the trip. Ivan the Terrible first built a monastery on the island. However, after the Revolution, the island became a camp for political prisoners and for the mentally ill. After the fall of the Soviet Union, people began raising money and the monastery was rebuilt, along with many other key buildings. Now, there is a very tiny village on the island and a place where people forge traditional weapons from the middle ages and practice fighting with them. We got a chance to try out some of the weapons J

Approaching the island

Monument for political prisoners, one of the more beautiful I've seen

Sword fight

Every blacksmith needs his cat companion. 

Crossbow! 

Sun! Clouds! Snow!

We also met the most darling dog, who followed us around and had the temperament of a grumpy polar bear.

Those eyes :(

On our last day, we tried to visit some museums, which led us to a very interesting part of town. The buildings were clearly all new and it was quite beautiful architecturally. However, when we got to the museum, it was locked. We wandered around for a bit, trying different doors. There was a little bathroom shed, with a woman running it, which seemed a bit strange, since there was absolutely no one around who would need a bathroom, except us. We asked her about the museum, and she said it should be open. Just as we walked towards it one last time, two women walked out of the front door. We ran to them and asked what was going on and they said the museum was closing early, since no one came. We explained the doors had been locked earlier, but they denied this. Our Russian friend with us was really frustrated, and said it was such typical Russian behavior, that they didn’t want to work, so they just decide to close the museum.

The museum

Who in the world lives here?

Wait, where are we?

We ended up walking quite far to a gallery, which had a few good exhibits, but the weather turned quite nasty on our way back to the hotel. It was quite a strong snowstorm just as it was getting dark. We were quite happy to go inside after a thirty-minute walk in that weather.

Next post: life in Moscow!

Then: My trip to Oxford!