Melting pot of cultures

The Lenin House-Museum domenstrates the family's daily life from the modestly furnished rooms. [Photo by Xu Lin/China Daily]

Then, Ivan the Terrible, who was the first to proclaim himself as Czar of Russia, conquered the state and ordered the building of the Kazan Kremlin.

Adjacent to the river bank are the Governor's Palace and the 58-meter-high redbrick leaning Suyumbike tower.

The tower's name is linked to the last queen of the Khanate of Kazan, Suyumbike.

On the gate of the tower are symbols of a golden sun and crescent. And near the tower are mausoleums and monuments of the Kazan khans.

Nearby, built from local white sandstone, is the Annunciation Cathedral which boasts magnificent icons and frescoes. One of them is Our Lady of Kazan, which depicts the Virgin Mary as the city's protector.

A little distance away is the white and blue Kul Sharif Mosque, which was rebuilt in 2005. It's a new landmark in Kazan and is one of the largest mosques in Europe.

It is painted white and blue inside and has an exquisite blue crystal lantern hanging from its golden ceiling.

The first floor of the mosque has a miniature of the structure, which is named in honor of the statesman and Imam Seid Kul Sharif.