Kazan
Map
February 16–19, 2006
Domodedovo
A woman asked us as at the entrance to security:
— Will you get undressed and take your shoes off, or are you going to go through the scanner?
First of all, it must be said that there is nothing more disgusting that taking your shoes off in an airport. Second, I’d never been offered the scanner before; I didn’t even know what it was. That’s why I chose it. There’s this huge white thingamabob there:
You go in fully dressed, you don’t even have to remove the packet of cigarettes in your pocket. Then you stand there for five seconds, recalling the film “Total Recall”.
— Come out now! — yelled the operator.
I went up to him — there’s a vertical monitor with a life-size me on it. The cornucopia of working gadgets made my mouth water.
— Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could take a screenshot...
— Easy, — he pressed the button and gave me what looked like a receipt with the picture on it.
It’s been ages since I’ve had such a good time at the airport.
* * *
Kazan
I got the impression that Kazan takes everything on the chin. Even being tasked with the impossible.
Water circus
That’s water circus to some, Escher’s “Waterfall” to others.
The city looks very young for its age (it’s 1000 years old).
All of the main streets in the city centre are spick and span, the facades are freshly painted. Judging by the house numbers, St Petersburg had a hand in this:
A cousin of the Moscow kremlin star decorates the kremlin tower, except this one doesn’t have any illumination.
On the bright side, entry onto the grounds is completely free of charge.
Next to the entrance there’s a monument of a fellow taking his pants off with his back to the kremlin.
The corner tower is embellished with a small metallic flag that has both Unesco and “World heritage” logos on it. They’ve put cause and effect in the wrong order.
Buildings of galactic proportions were frantically built all over the city for the hastily scheduled anniversary. For instance, just like the Moscow kremlin has its palace of congresses, the Kazan kremlin now has The Main Mosque.
Of course, it goes without saying that you simply can’t do without a palace of basketball.
Nor without a metro (note the St Petersburg-style carriages), even if it only has five stations.
DO NOT LEAN ON THE DOORS
For the amount they spent on one metro train they could’ve stuck in traffic lights at every intersection. There are a number of central streets that could really do with some, especially since the locals’ signature move is turning left past oncoming traffic.
The city is riddled with new business centres inhabited by “for lease” signs. I’m deliberately displaying a different photo:
Admittedly, there was a good reason for doing all this construction work.
They’ve put up neat little Potemkin facades in the places they didn’t manage to rebuild in time.
Here’s an ad dictated by a known stammerer: Erast Petrovich Fandorin (hero of a series of Russian historical detective fiction novels set in the XIX century):
PhPhone
Cards
on sale here
And here’s a ttelephone booth (bbooth?).
Telephone booth
The Russian saying “came out of nowhere, like snow falling on your head” originated in these parts.
In parts Kazan is reminiscent of Europe.
Other parts look like the Orient.
Other parts still are much like Europe, near and far.
There are also bits that look like the Middle and the Far East.
Coffeehouse
Sushi-bar
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