The most important thing in any travel is the memories you take with you when going back home. When sightseeing in the millennia-old Kazan in your free time between football matches, do not forget to visit souvenir shops to buy gifts for yourself and your family.
Amusing Kazan Cat figurines, authentic leather bags and silver jewellery, panoramic view postcards and magnets will preserve the city's atmosphere in your memory and will remind you about this travel long after you have returned home.
Leather Goods
Kazan leather crafters have been traditionally renowned for their mastery of a special leather procession technique, the mosaic method. Bags, ichigs (Tatar boots), natural leather slippers here are very different from what is traditionally understood by 'leather products' due to the special approach to their manufacture and their unusual colour scheme. Such goods are not mere souvenirs but are also everyday clothing articles that will serve you for many years.
Tubeteika
A tubeteika is a small round hat with a flat top. Traditionally it is made of velvet or dark-coloured chamois leather, embroidered with beads and appliqué made of gold threads. A summer variant of a tubeteika, made of cotton, can serve as a substitute for a bucket hat or a Panama hat.
The Kazan Cat
The Kazan Cat is a character of Kazan fables and urban legends. Kazan Cat figurines are as popular as the eponymous statue in the pedestrian Baumana Street that is usually surrounded by a crowd of tourists with photo cameras at the ready. The cat figurines are very cheerful and have a large variety of different designs. They are an excellent gift both for children and adults.
Magnets and Key Fobs
Magnets are popular souvenirs among tourists from all over the world. Magnets with pictures of Kazan sights and the dignified Zilant (the creature on the city’s arms), or ones in the shape of popular Tatar dishes – traingle or a çäkçäk pyramid – will be a great addition to your fridge door collection.
Matryoshka Dolls
In most Kazan souvenir shops you will find the Tatar "sister" of the traditional Russian matryoshka doll. She is dressed in a traditional Tatar costume and wears an authentic Tatar kalfak on her head.
Çäkçäk
A traditional sweet pastry that is prepared from pieces of dough and local honey. The long shelf life of fresh, high quality çäkçäk will allow you to treat your friends and family to it even if you live at a most distant point of the globe.
