Photo Journal: Exploring Kazan As An American 🇷🇺
- Konrad Tillman
- Nov 14, 2025
- 6 min read
Intro
During my brief 36 hours in Kazan, I had the opportunity to explore one of the more interesting cities throughout Russia. While I didn't find it to be as beautiful as St Petersburg, or as lively as Moscow, Kazan actually made me dig into the history of Russia. Yes, I can be very oblivious about certain things, and one of those is not knowing about the Muslim population. Supposedly, almost 15% of the population of Russia is Muslim, and today I got to explore the famous mosque of Kazan!
A Photo Story
After a scintillating sleep at the lovely Kravt airport hotel, I decided it was time to head into the city to explore. With absolutely no clue where I was going, I called a Yandex Go to take me on the 40-minute drive to downtown, where I found this pizza place.
But, I am not here to show you some American pizza in Kazan; I am here to show you the beauty of the Kazan Kremlin. It's all pretty tight-knit downtown, and within 15 minutes, I had arrived at the entrance to the 'Kremlin'.
But continuing up the hill, with my heavy backpack, albeit, I had finally made it to the top of what I considered to be one of the main streets of Kazan. Later, I walked along and found that a lot of upscale restaurants were laid out along this road, but I had other things on my mind at this moment.
It was time to enter the Kazan Kremlin!
Welcome to the mosque. The first stop of this mini tour of Kazan was observing this magnificent mosque located on the left of the walkway. I mean, it honestly puts the mosque in Kabul to shame, as it's simply breathtaking. It's even better when it's party cloudy as the color matches the mosque in itself. Just wow...
Here's a little bit of history about the mosque, and I pulled this from Google since I have absolutely no clue whatsoever:
"The Kul Sharif Mosque in Kazan was originally built in the 16th century but was destroyed in 1552 when Ivan the Terrible's forces conquered the city. Named after the mosque's last imam, Kul Sharif, who died defending the city, the mosque was a symbol of the Kazan Khanate's religious and cultural life. The current, modern structure was built between 1996 and 2005, with construction completed in 2005 for Kazan's 1000th anniversary."
After having my jaw dropped on the floor for 30 minutes, it was time to keep embarking around the Kazan Kremlin. It's large enough that you could spend half a day exploring, but small enough that you could see everything you need to in 45 minutes. I was mainly focused on the architecture, as going inside these buildings isn't really my cup of tea, so that's what I did.
The views from the top were incredible over the city. You begin to learn that Russia is an entirely different world, and that cities vary greatly.
The Rest Of The Day
Feeling slightly tired, I decided to head to a local bar, which are usually located beneath street level, and sense Kazan. See, bars actually give a lot away when it comes to cities/towns. And what I learnt was this: not as many people spoke English here, but they were all extremely welcoming towards me. If there is one thing you need to know as an American in Russia: be prepared to get given a lot of free shots, and today was no different. 6 shots later, I was half stumbling out of the bar 😅.
What are you supposed to say? No? It's not in my vocabulary 😂.
One of the other reasons I went to a bar was in an attempt to find wifi. Why? Well, my Verizon Travel Pass didn't work for me in Kazan, and I was basically out of luck in trying to reset it. So, with the small wifi I got, I was able to conjure up a hotel booking at this, let's call it a hotel 😅, a 15-minute walk away 😂.
Now, here is the thing: I usually do hotel reviews, but have decided against it this time for a few different reasons. Number one being, I was terribly tired, and basically passed out once again (seeing a trend here? ha), and secondly, because this was an absolute rip off for 80 USD per night.
Okay, realistically, it wasn't that bad on paper. It provided a bed, an attic, and a toilet/shower, but considering that the Courtyard Marriott is only 30 USD per night more, I recommend staying there. Just one issue: I am a doofus and didn't book anything, so everything was sold out 😂...
Look, and I am not saying that the hotel was bad. The staff were really kind, and I managed some sleep, but there is much better for the price around...
Well, what was the plan for the rest of the afternoon/evening? I had a therapy session with my sex therapist (joking, she likes to call herself that even though I am celibate (also joking)), and it was off to have dinner at a local steakhouse before bed.
And that was it. I watched Fast and Furious V, headed to bed by 7 pm, and woke up bright and early at 3:30 am to catch my flight back to Moscow...
Final Thoughts
Look, I might have gone on 117 tangents throughout this, but my point behind this was to share the beauty of Kazan. Much like St Petersburg and Moscow, Kazan is another place where having a plan might not be beneficial. Spend the day walking around with no plan. Visit the mosque. Visit the Kazan Kremlin. And maybe, if you dare, walk into a local bar and learn what Russian hospitality is. Lastly, splurge on the courtyard Marriott, it's worth it 😂.
Russia Series
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