Kazan is a city where East meets West, Orthodoxy and Islam, Russian and Tatar cultures. Nowhere is this synthesis felt as keenly as in the Old Tatar Settlement - a historic district on Lake Kaban's shore where Tatar families have lived for over 450 years. When I first walked these streets, I was struck: just steps from the Kremlin, a completely different world with wooden mosques, painted window frames, and the aroma of chak-chak from every courtyard.

Settlement History: From Exile to Prosperity

The Old Tatar Settlement's history begins with tragedy. In 1552, Ivan the Terrible captured Kazan,...