KAZAN, Russia (AP) – Fans visiting the exotic city of Kazan for next year’s World Cup will get to experience a little bit of everything: rich history, diverse culture, magnificent buildings – and even a beach.
The traditionally Muslim city located in central Russia, some 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of Moscow, not far from where Europe meets Asia, lies on the banks of the Volga and Kazanka rivers, where a beautiful water line offers summer-time attractions that include the beach and even a water park.
Some of the most famous sights of the capital of the Tatarstan region are linked to its rich diversity and extraordinary mix of eastern and western cultures, features that give visitors a chance to see a unique side to Russia.
The highlights of the city are the religious buildings inside the ancient white walls of its 16th century kremlin, or citadel, one of UNESCO’s world heritage sites.
The imposing Qolsharif Mosque, which highlights the Kazan skyline with its bright blue domes, stands only a few meters from the Orthodox Annunciation Cathedral. The Mosque is a 1990s reconstruction – part of post-Soviet cultural revival – of one destroyed by Ivan the Terrible in 1552.