Not much time — we only have the morning free to explore Kazan, and then at 1:10pm we catch the train to Murom, to arrive there at 9:34pm for an overnight stay at the Rusich Guesthouse.
Suzie meeting some froggy friends in the mall
The Kremlin from below
Just round the corner from the Nogai Hotel there is a large pedestrian mall, Profsoyuznaya ulitsa, which takes you northwestward to the Kazan Kremlin, the chief historic citadel of Tatarstan, Russia. It was built on the ruins of the former castle of Kazan khans at the behest of Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000.
On our way towards the Kremlin, we encountered the statue of a zilant perched above the entrance to the Kremlyovskaya Metro station. The Zilant (Russian: Зилант) is a legendary creature, something between a dragon and a wyvern. Since 1730, it has been the official symbol of Kazan, as it is mentioned in legends about the foundation of Kazan. The creature has the head of a dragon, the body of a bird, the legs of a chicken, the neck and tail of a snake, the ears of a canine, red wings, sharp teeth, dark-gray feathers and scaly dark-gray skin.
Also outside another entrance to the same station is a quirky statue of a horse!
One of the biggest mosques in Europe, the Qolşärif Mosque (or Kol Sharif Mosque), was opened here on June 24, 2005, and this has become the most prominent building within the Kremlin.
As we were walking around within this glorious building, the beautiful music of an imam reading the Quran was being piped gently through its lower levels.
Prior to the construction of the Mosque, the most striking building in the Kremlin dating back to (probably) around 1700 was the Söyembikä Tower, aka the Khan's Mosque. It used to be a 'leaning tower', but recent engineering efforts have corrected its verticality issues.
The view from just outside the Kremlin, from its embankment and looking basically westwards is quite stunning. There's the Pyramid Concert Hall, The Central Sports Stadium and the Circus, a permanent building found in virtually all large Russian cities, all spread out below you.
We walked this route, and then back to the Hotel to catch a taxi to the station for our next leg, a train trip to Murom, for basically just an overnight stay to put us into range of Suzdal.
We got into Murom just after 9:30pm, and were met by Dmitri in his super-smart Sonata car. He took us to the Rusich Guest House, a log-house structure, and arranged to pick us up the following morning to take us to Suzdal.
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