Kazan is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, set at the junction of the Volga and Kazanka rivers about 800 kilometres east of Moscow. Founded around 1005 AD, it was the capital of the Kazan Khanate before Ivan the Terrible conquered it in 1552. Today it is one of Russia's most interesting cities — a place where minarets and onion domes share the skyline and Tatar and Russian cultures have coexisted for centuries.
The Kazan Kremlin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the centrepiece. Inside its white walls you will find the massive Kul Sharif Mosque (rebuilt in 2005 to replace the one destroyed by Ivan), the Annunciation Cathedral, and the leaning Söyembikä Tower. The upper town around the Kremlin is where Russian gentry and merchants once lived; the lower town — the Old Tatar Quarter — stretches along the riverbank and still has the best food.
Tatar cuisine is distinctive and delicious: echpochmak (triangular meat pies), chak-chak (honey-drenched pastry), and strong tea served from a samovar. Bauman Street, the main pedestrian boulevard, is lined with restaurants, cafes, and handsome 19th-century buildings. Beyond the centre, the bizarre Temple of All Religions on the western outskirts combines a dozen faith traditions into a single building, and the UNESCO-listed island monastery of Sviyazhsk makes a memorable day trip down the Volga.