That's how close we are to the Kazan Kremlin.
When you hear the word Kremlin,
a lot of people already think about Moscow.
But actually, there are Kremlins
in other Russian cities as well.
Kremlin is a word that means fortress
A fortress inside the city. And the Kazan Kremlin is among the most beautiful ones.
No idea what that is,
but it's good, it's sweet.
There is rice inside.
What's the name of this?
The name?
What's this?
Chak-chak?
No, not chak-chak
Gubadia
Very good. Good, good!
Thanks!
The Kremlin!
Let's go explore.
You just pay something here at the entrance if you want to do a tour,
but to visit the Kremlin itself, it's totally free.
You need Google Translate to read anything here, there's nothing in English.
This place has centuries of history, just like the very city of Kazan
which is more than a thousand years old.
This Kremlin was built in the 16th century, but before that
there were other buildings here as well, there was a castle for example.
The coolest thing about this Kremlin is that it reflects the multicultural nature of Kazan
with a Muslim side and Christian side.
And the main point here in this Kremlin, the focal point, is actually a mosque: Kul Sharif
The original mosque here was both built and destroyed in the 16th century,
this when Kazan was not even part of Russia yet.
And its name, Kul Sharif, is a homage to a Muslim leader
who died defending Kazan from the Russian troops.
This mosque here now is really recent, it was inagurated in 2005.
To get in both men and women need clothes that cover the knees and also the shoulders
Women also need headscarves, if you don't have you can borrow one.
Let's go in.
Only men go down there.
Nice view!
But it can get better.
This is the observation tower, 50 rubles to go up.
I'll be in that little window.
Everything is very tight up here.
Panoramic view here to protect the fortress. It's beautiful.
These stairs are almost vertical, that people go down backwards.
Another famous tower here at the Kremlin is Söyembikä
It was a leaning tower, it has leaned about two meters, just like Pisa
But today it has been stabilized.
This one is closed, you can't go up, but if it was allowed I don't think I'd have the courage either.
During the Imperial Russia there was a double-headed eagle up there
Traditionally this is a symbol that represents power
and when the Tsars ruled here it had the same meaning
Then the Bolsheviks took over and they replaced it with a red star, which represents Communism.
Today it's a Muslim crescent, representing Islam.
Rumor has it that this tower even inspired the towers in the Moscow Kremlin.
Right beside you can see where the Khans of the Khanate of Kazan are buried.
This was when Kazan didn't even belong to Russia yet and it was a Khanate.
These died in 1467 and 78
Khans were leaders, this was in the 15th-16th centuries
and before that this region here was part of a country, let's put it this way,
that doesn't even exist anymore, called Volga Bulgaria.
In Russia there are various ethnicities and here in Kazan the Tatars are the majority.
They have unique culture, food, and language for example.
Geographically and politically Russia is divided into various Republics,
each one has its own president and all of them are subordinated
to the president of the federation, Vladimir Putin.
Kazan is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan and this is the house of the president.
There are so many old buildings in the Kazan Kremlin, but the oldest is this one right here.
This is the Annunciation Cathedral, from 1562.
To get in it's just like at the mosque: knees and shoulders covered, and headscarves for women.
I noticed that most Orthodox women put their scarves like this, with the knot
like this, so I tried to do something similar.
It looks like a wedding.
Several important Orthodox archbishops are buried here
Very interesting, huh? Muslims and Christians, each with its own faiths
and beliefs living side by side like this, peacefully.
Ahhhh! View point!
Wow, look at this view up here, really nice. This is the Kazanka River
and very close, I think right over there, it meets the Volga
This is why this location is so important, this is why they built a fortress here.
Look at down there... The Kremlin wall
Surrounding and protecting the entire Kremlin.
Remember that building with the tree in the middle that we saw last night?
It's this one, we just cannot see the tree from here.
Here inside the Kremlin there are also museums, including a Hermitage museum,
but absolutely everything I see is written in Russian and Tatar,
the two official languages in Kazan.
There's nothing, nothing, nothing in English,
so I'm not going because I'm afraid I'll get there and won't understand a thing.
This tower here at the entrance is Spasskaya tower
And it has this name as a homage to the Spassky monastery, that was located very close
This monastery actually was destroyed by the Bolsheviks when they took power
Why? They abolished religion
And something I thought was very interesting is that the communist star is on top of it.
You're probably wondering what's all this noise about, right?
There's a huge refurbishment project going on here. There might be a new attraction soon.
No wonder the Kazan Kremlin is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Our hotel here is so close to the Kremlin! It's the Courtyard Marriott
So let me show it to you. It's like new, very nice, I really like it
But the best is the rooftop. Look at it earlier today.
I can't believe we are this close to the Kremlin
paying 40-45 dollars a night.
It's very nice!
Overall, Kazan is more affordable than Moscow and St. Petersburg
especially if you stay close to the landmarks like this
But even more if you compare to other European cities.
And yes, this is still Europe.
I hope you enjoyed the day, tomorrow there's more Kazan.
Only from the street you can tell how big the Kremlin is.
Look at this!
Amazing!