Venturing into unfamiliar territory...
Trip Start
Aug 11, 2006
1
13
27
Trip End
Nov 19, 2006
Kazan,
Russia
Saturday, October 7, 2006
Up until this point in the trip, I'd already been to all the cities I visited. Kazan has been my first 'new' place so far, but it wasn't nearly as scary as I thought! In another first, it was also my first kupe (2nd class) train to get here too!
The trains in Russia are very different to the ones at home - as everything takes ages to get to, the trains are all set up for sleeping, not sitting. I ususally travel 3rd class, in platskartny carriges. These are open comparments with 6 beds, about 50 in the carriage in total (Mum and Hayley, these are the ones that were on that TV program with the man with teh folding bike)
01 - Kazan Kremlin
. It's usually really social, with everyone getting up and moving around, chatting, sharing food. Not too great for actual sleeping though! 2nd class, kupe, is made up of closed compartments with 4 beds in. It's much more expensive, but a lot more comfortable, and the first time I've had a properly good night's sleep on the train! I was dreading being stuck in a comparment with 3 Russian guys, but the men in my comparment were really nice, not the drunkads I'd expected. They were documentary makers that had been filming in Moscow, so they had all this old Soviet- era movie gear with them, which was pretty cool! One of them, Batir, was extra lovely, and we chatted in bad Russian and bad English about movies and music and things. Kazan itself was lovely. The captial of Tatarstan, it had a different feel to other places I've been to. The Tatars are traditionally Muslim, so amongst the Orthodox churches, there are beautiful Mosques, and lots of Arabic and the Tatar flag all over the place. Also, everything is bi-lingual, written in Russian and Tatar. It's got a bit of a small town feel - although there's a million people living here, the centre isn't much bigger than Harrogate's!
The biggest adventure I had was finding where I was sleeping - I had to wander around the town with my backpack, as there was nowhere to leave it at the train station, so I was a bit annoyed the first day there. I had arranged where I was sleeping through Hospitality Club - nice people that are willing to put you up in their home for a day or two. So, perfect for me - I get to meet Russian people, and also get a free night's sleep! Hurray! In Kazan, a man called Vladimir had arranged for me to stay with a friend of his, Firdaus, and had told me her address and the bus stop I needed, but not the bus to catch..
02 - Kul Sharif Mosque
. I wasn't sure if I'd ever find it, so was mentally preparing myself for sitting in a 24hour bar all night (well, it was a Saturday!). Thank god that buses here have their stops written on the side!! I jumped into a bus, and a lovely girl told me when to get off, and after a bit of confused wandering, finally arrived at Firdaus's flat. Up some dodgy stairs (I think all russian flat blocks have dodgy stairs!), to see a huge note saying 'welcome Louise!' - I don't think I've ever been so relieved!My stay with Firdaus was wonderful. Her flat is a typical, tiny Soviet flat - tiny kitchen, two rooms, very modest. We spent the evening sitting in the kitchen drinking ridiculous amounts of tea, eating cakes, cheese, russian sausage (I was brave!), a Tatar thing called Chak Chak (as far as i can tell, it's strings of batter deep fried then dipped in sugar. Delicous!), and talking talking talking. Firdaus is an amazing woman - she's a doctor, that worked two jobs for years on end to be able to make enough money to support her 3 kids (now grown up), but has still been able to find the time to go to "psychological trainings", learn how to do reiki, have dancing and guitar lessons, read to her family, and take in riff raff like me! She seems to have a very simple life, always trying to learn and better herself, and become closer to her children - they already spend so much time together! Talking to her, and meeting her son Tagir the next evening (they played the guitar and sang traditional Russian songs for me) made me feel a bit homesick for my family!
On Sunday Firdaus took me on a tour of Kazan. The day before I'd a wander around, but it wasn't much fun with my backpack! The state history museum (another town, another history museum...) was interesting - lots of exhibits about stone age people in the area, and about the imperial era, lots of pretty thinsg to look at
03 - Firdaus and I at the river station
. They had a random section of stuffed animals - parrots, squirells, beavers, and the hugest, ugliest fish I've ever seen! Out tour started at the university - Lenin studied here before they kicked him out for revolutionary behaviuor - and then a really pretty orthodox church. Orthodaox churches are a lot different to the ones in England - there are no seats, and they're beautifully decorated. Othodoxy seems to be a lot more private reliogion, about tour own, soliary worship of the icons. Although I don't believe in God (which Firdaus was amazed by!), I do find these churches rather comforting. They all have the same smell (kind of incensy and dusty), and are incredibly peaceful. Like Moscow and a few other Russian cities, Kazan has a kremlin that was the original fortress of the town. It's a lot smaller than Moscow's and less crammed full, but I liked it a lot more. It was very peaceful, not full of fat noisy tourists! One of the main thinsg there are the Syuyumbike tower - as the story goes, Ivan the Terrible attacked Kazan in the 1300s, because the Princess Syuyumbike wouldn't marry him. In the end, to save her people, she relented, and said that she would marry him if he could build a tower higher than any Kazan mosque in a week. He managed it, and she promptly threw herself of teh top to her squishy doom. I'm not sure if I belive the story though, the tower looks too solid, and a bit too intricate to have been hurredly built
04 - A Break in the Clouds
. There's also a massive mosque - a massive white stone building (on the site of one that Ivan burned down) with a huge blue dome, and lots of spires. It's so pretty! Firdaus hadn't been there before, so it was nice to see something new together. Inside (my first tim ein a mosque) was very bright and parse, but with the most intraicate decoration on the inside of the dome. Firdaus said the place has ' a lot of energy'. I had a great time in Kazan, primarily due to Firdaus's immense hospitality and wonderful company. I can't say how thankful I am to have met her, she was so kind, and without her I wouldn't have learnt to much about Kazan. And also would have been sad, cold amd lonely!
