Our short flight to Kazan was in the dark and on a relatively small (and vintage) prop plane. It was raining as we walked out onto the tarmac and to the plane. I boarded, put in my earplugs to drown out the noise, and tried to sleep to prevent any panic.The flight was brief and smooth...whew. We arrived to beautiful blue skies in Kazan and lost two hours via the numerous (there are 9!) Russian zones. We are now on Moscow time.
Kazan is about 150 years older than Moscow and is the capital city of the Tatarstan Republic. Tatars are Russia's largest minority and have descended from the Mongol-Tartar armies of Genghis Khaan and his successors on the middle Volga. Tatars are mostly Muslim and there are more than 2 million living in Tatarstan. While Tatar nationalism is very evident here, it is not known to be radical with the local version of Islam recognized as super moderate. With the addition of the Slavic Russian influence here, the cultural mix makes Kazan especially interesting with magnificent mosques and ancient Russian Orthodox churches sitting side by side.
Once we settled in our quaint and funky little hotel (thanks tripadvisor.com), we headed out to see the famous Kremlin of Kazan. The Kremlin is the focal point of the city's historic center and was walkable from our place. From the fort, we could see meeting of the Volga and Kazan rivers below.
For lunch we opted out of the recommended Tatar cuisine and itt was instead at a pub of a place off the city square. Even there, horse, rabbit, tongue and ears were prominent on the menu.
After more touring, and a short nap, we headed out for dinner to the # 1 recommended restaurant in the city. It was quite difficult to find and we were forced to ask people on the street twice (basically "pa-zhal-sta" please..."gyde" where is) the place. It was located on a side street down a darkish stairwell. Once you walked in however, it was a contemporary underground all white, beautiful place with white couches, tablecloths, flowers, etc. etc. It was romantic, warm, cozy, vibrant, and the best food I have eaten since arriving to Russia.
Walking home we saw a little place called Cuba Libre and had a stop. Within minutes it was filled with young people Latin dancing, drinking tea & coffee and smoking from large hooka pipes-all to wonderful Cuban music.What a lively and fun little place.
Arriving back late to our little hotel, the smiling staff were waiting for us to lock the doors for the night. zzzzzzzzzz
Kazan is about 150 years older than Moscow and is the capital city of the Tatarstan Republic. Tatars are Russia's largest minority and have descended from the Mongol-Tartar armies of Genghis Khaan and his successors on the middle Volga. Tatars are mostly Muslim and there are more than 2 million living in Tatarstan. While Tatar nationalism is very evident here, it is not known to be radical with the local version of Islam recognized as super moderate. With the addition of the Slavic Russian influence here, the cultural mix makes Kazan especially interesting with magnificent mosques and ancient Russian Orthodox churches sitting side by side.
Once we settled in our quaint and funky little hotel (thanks tripadvisor.com), we headed out to see the famous Kremlin of Kazan. The Kremlin is the focal point of the city's historic center and was walkable from our place. From the fort, we could see meeting of the Volga and Kazan rivers below.
For lunch we opted out of the recommended Tatar cuisine and itt was instead at a pub of a place off the city square. Even there, horse, rabbit, tongue and ears were prominent on the menu.
After more touring, and a short nap, we headed out for dinner to the # 1 recommended restaurant in the city. It was quite difficult to find and we were forced to ask people on the street twice (basically "pa-zhal-sta" please..."gyde" where is) the place. It was located on a side street down a darkish stairwell. Once you walked in however, it was a contemporary underground all white, beautiful place with white couches, tablecloths, flowers, etc. etc. It was romantic, warm, cozy, vibrant, and the best food I have eaten since arriving to Russia.
Walking home we saw a little place called Cuba Libre and had a stop. Within minutes it was filled with young people Latin dancing, drinking tea & coffee and smoking from large hooka pipes-all to wonderful Cuban music.What a lively and fun little place.
Arriving back late to our little hotel, the smiling staff were waiting for us to lock the doors for the night. zzzzzzzzzz
SWFL will seem tame after your adventures. When do you teach again? Do we get to read your article? BTW, press release from ESC about you and I spoke glowingly about your program in Senate meeting. Were you ears burning on Friday?
ReplyDeleteWe are all OK. Will update you re some minor concerns later.. nothing to worry about. We are surviving but miss you alot.
Al said no more V for John