Tour with tea in the Old Tatar Sloboda

Did you know that in the very center of Kazan there is a brother of the mysterious Atlantis, which stores hundreds of legends? And his name is the Old Tatar Sloboda. This part of Kazan has become a kind of tourist brand of the city.

Here, after the conquest of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible in 1552, Tatars began to live. The shores of Lake Kaban sheltered indigenous people loyal to the new rule. In this part of the city, a unique ensemble of national Tatar architecture was formed. Some even call the Old Tatar Sloboda the lost and regained Kazan Atlantis.

During the tour of the Old Tatar Sloboda you will learn the history of the indigenous inhabitants of Kazan - the Tatars: their culture, crafts, religion and traditions. Colorful wooden houses and exemplary apartment houses, the oldest mosques, furnished apartments, shopping labas and wide avenues will tell about the daily life of Kazan Tatars.

In the Old Tatar Sloboda we will see the oldest mosque of Al Marjani, where for you, for sure, it will be a mystery why the city is more than 1000 years old, and it is only 250, and it looks like a baroque mansion. Examining the interior decoration, you will learn about the differences between Orthodox Islam and Tatar Islam. The second ancient mosque, Apanayevskaya, will tell you more about this advanced view of everyday life, where we will, in particular, talk about the attitude of society to local women in the first half of the 19th century and about quite free morals for that time. And if there is an opportunity and time, read the letters of Tatar women who lived in that era.
Walking through the pedestrian streets of this part of the city, you will hear how the wedding ceremony of the city Tatars took place in the 19th century and whether there were polygamists among them. You will learn what the city dwellers were doing and what difficulties they faced in imperial Russia, how they went to study abroad and returned from there as learned men who are known throughout the world and whose names are now called Kazan mosques. We will be able to touch the history of the Tatar people, as well as learn how it was possible to become an imam and a scientist-educator at the same time, what Tatar culture brought to Russian culture and what treasures are hidden in the deep waters of Lake Kaban. You will pass along its embankment and look into the estate, where you will get acquainted with the peculiarities of life, the device of a merchant's house and sweets in the national store. We will stop for tea in one of these merchant houses. You will also learn about such characters of Tatar fairy tales as Su Anasy and Shural.

The excursion program can include a visit to thematic museums: the Museum of Tea, the Museum of the Tatar Bride, etc. You can also organize a master class on the preparation of national dishes of Tatar cuisine.

Tour guide work