The real Kazan.

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We had breakfast at a diner on ulitsa Karl Marx, then went on a tour of the town. All of us had had enough of not being taken seriously, so we spoke Russian with each other and let the imam know we were annoyed.

Kazan is bigger than Yaroslavl, but it has many gardens and parks so it feels like there is more space. The buildings are newer and better looking - houses are built in white brick in different designs, as opposed to Yaroslavl's uniform grey blocks. Also the people are more diverse; Kazan is half Muslim and half Russian Orthodox and there is both a mosque and a cathedral within the walls of the kremlin, the only one of it's kind in the Russian Federation.

Our first trip was to the Kul Sharif mosque. It is an incredible building which stands in a beautiful courtyard, with four bright turquoise spires on top of four tall, thin white minarets, and a turquoise dome in the centre above a large door decorated with arabic script. We went inside and climbed to the top - girls in headscarves - and it was just as stunning on the inside. There was Muslim art on the walls, narrow windows and a green marble floor. After the discomfort of yesterday the experience made me feel calm.

After the mosque we went to another museum, this time one of Tatar culture. The guide was a lot less patronising and the exhibits (from stuffed animals to Tatar jewellery, from arabic abstract paintings to model houses) were much more relevant.

The minibus took us to a park for half an hour, where I tried to jump onto a fountain to take a photo - and split my jeans from the inside of my knee up to my thigh! I had to cross my legs all through lunch, the same set menu at the same noisy children's café.

For our last couple of hours the imam let us stroll around town. The girls tried on hats at Accessorize and the boys shopped for music and MP3s. The Russian part of Kazan is a lot more 'western' than Yaroslavl, but there aren't as many things to do.

The light across the river as the sun went down over it, and the kremlin lit up on the top of the hill, were very special.

Then it was back to the hotel to start our trip home. Chris bought "Chyornye Glaza", an Armenian pop group's remix of a traditional Russian folk song that is popular at the moment. We listened to it about five times before deciding Oasis were more minibus-friendly. We played 'twenty questions' until about midnight, then it was time to work out our sleeping tactics...

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Photos

Kazan cathedral.
The only Kremlin in Russia with both a Russian Orthodox cathedral and a Muslim mosque.

Gate to the city.
The entrance to the Kremlin.