Kazan is a fascinating city, home to Orthodox and Catholic churches, mosques, and synagogues. People of any faith, including atheists, are welcome to enter. I personally visited all the monasteries, mosques, and churches in Kazan that I could reach without any problem. Below is the second part of my article about Kazan's mosques: Apanaevskaya Mosque (1768-71, 1872), Kul Sharif Mosque (1996-2005), al-Marjani Mosque (1766-1770, 1861, 1863, 1885, 1887), and Zakabannaya Mosque (1914-1926).
Apanaev Mosque (Second Cathedral, Bay, Cave), 1768-71, 1872. Built with funds from the Tatar merchant Yakub Sultangaleyev after the leaders of Kazan's Muslim community secured permission from Empress Catherine II to build two stone mosques (the second, al-Marjani) to replace those destroyed by order of Empress Anna Ioannovna and those that burned down. Named after the Apanaev merchants, who lived in the mahalla and maintained it, hence the name "Bayskaya." Closed in 1930, the building was transferred to the Muhammadiyah Madrasah in 1995, and restoration was completed in 2011.
The open door is the entrance to a large bookstore of Islamic literature. Here you can find not only the Quran, but also translations of medieval Arab scholars (for example, on medicine), books on Islamic culture, and so on.
The interior of the Apanaev Mosque
Historical photos of the Apanaev Mosque
Kul Sharif Mosque, 1996-2005, architects Sh. Kh. Latypov, M. V. Safronov, A. G. Sattarov, and I. F. Saifullin. This is a reconstruction of the multi-minaret mosque of the 16th-century capital of the Kazan Khanate, destroyed in 1552 during the storming of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible's troops. It is named after its last imam, Sayyid Kul Sharif, one of the leaders of Kazan's defense.
The genealogy of Muhammad from Adam in the mosque museum
Dome of the mosque
Children's drawing
Source: travel.ru