Tatarstan is a nation within a nation, the Tartars, Russia's largest minority group. Though it is west of the Urals, the Asian faces missing from Yekaterinburg are present in numbers on the streets of Kazan. Mosques stud the skyline, and the call to prayer is heard on the evening breezes. But here, Islam and Orthodox Christianity have co-existed for centuries. The Sunni Muslim Volga Bulgars have mixed with the Mongol Golden Horde, who themselves have mixed with the Ivan the Terrible's Russian invaders. A crossroads of history, and a beautiful, wealthy city. You have to love a place whose symbolic animal is a dragon that looks like a chicken.
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24/6/2017 15:37:43
You are most welcome Zara. I had hoped to take the cruise down the Volga to Old Bulgar, but time did not permit. Perhaps next time, should it come...We are off to the airport in 15 minutes, so until we see you in Melbourne, hugs form Minuk and I
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AuthorKen Richards Archives
June 2019
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