Riding the Trans-Siberian railway from east to west, you follow in the tracks of the Mongol Golden Hordes that stormed across Asia to the Ural Mountains of Western Siberia and the city of Kazan where many of them settled along the banks of the Volga River. Today, it is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, one of the largest and most beautiful Russian cities, where many of the world’s major faiths coexist in peace, as evidenced by the Kremlin of Kazan.

When Ivan the Terrible conquered the city in the 1500s, he had all the mosques destroyed in the name of the Russian Orthodox Church, building a citadel — the Kazan Kremlin — on the ruins of one. It was only when Catherine the Great came to power that the mosques were rebuilt. Ironically, thereafter, Russian Orthodox Churches were confiscated and many destroyed during the Communist era. But the resilience and tenacity of the inhabitants overcame the vagaries of their political leaders. Today, there are over 1,000 mosques and 272 churches in Kazan ( the word means ‘cooking pot’ in Tatar).

As you wander through the streets, you are likely to hear the muezzin’s call to prayer echoing over the hills as bells chime from the church towers. The Kazan Kremlin (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is the historic center of the city As you enter the grounds your eyes are drawn to the eight striking blue and white minarets of the Kul Sharif Mosque, the largest in Europe, built in 2005 and named after the imam who was killed whilst defending the city against Ivan the Terrible.  Nearby is the Annunciation Cathedral, its blue and gold domes resplendent on white walls. Built in the 1500s, it has recently been restored to its original grandeur, every inch of its interior walls covered with icons of the saints, coiffed with golden halos.

Beside the cathedral stands the Soyembika Tower, Kazan’s most iconic structure and the subject of legends. According to our guide, when Ivan the Terrible conquered Kazan, he fell hopelessly in love with Soyembika, the last queen of Kazan. She did not share his sentiments and, desperate to find a way out of marriage, told Ivan she would marry him only if he built the highest tower in the world in seven days. When, to her surprise, the tower was completed, she ascended and dived off the top rather than succumb to the tyrant. According to legend, she turned into a swan.

In front of the Kremlin, overlooking the city below stands a bronze statue of Musa Dzhalil, wrapped in barbed wire. A Tatar poet who was tortured and executed by the Nazis, Dzhalil’s notebook of poetry was saved by his cellmate after his death and published posthumously.

Kazan is a city of contrasts where eastern and western faiths live in harmony and where the people celebrate by sharing bread and salt with visitors. As we approach the end of year holidays, when peace and goodwill are supposed to reign, there is a lot to be learned from the people of Kazan who have been able to put aside their difference to celebrate their diversity.

IF YOU GO
There are direct flights from Moscow to Kazan as well as several flights a week from Frankfurt and Vienna on Lufthansa and Austrian airlines.
Kazan is the last stop on the Trans-Siberian Express before it reaches Moscow. The Tsar’s Gold is owned and operated by a German company, Lernidee Reisen Tel 49-0-30-786-0000. Reservations can be made direct with the company.

TO STAY
Shalyapin Hotel (ul. University 7, Kazan; +7-8843-231-1000; www.shalyapin-hotel.ru) Courtyard by Marriott Kazan Kremlin (6 Karl Marx Street, Kazan; Tel +7 843-567-4000; www.marriott.com/hotels/kzncy-gourtyard-kazan.

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