Ildar Khanov lives in a temple of his own creation. It boasts a splendid array of minarets and domes that recall many of the world’s principal religions. Not quite what you might expect to find in the suburb of a city in the Russian Federation. But this is Russia with a twist, for Ildar Khanov lives in Tatarstan.
Ildar Khanov is a mystic and a healer, an artist and even an architect. He lives on the edge of the city of Kazan (featured in the preceding article), where he survives on minimal sleep — no more than four hours a day, he says — and donations from those whom he has healed.
Khanov’s magnum opus, a project on which he has been working for some twenty years, is one of the most extraordinary and eclectic buildings in Russia.
This is just an excerpt. The full text of this article is not yet available to members with online access to hidden europe. Of course you can also read the full article in the print edition of hidden europe 34.
Tags: architecture, religion, Russian Federation
Print edition in which the article appeared. Click to purchase:
This article was published in hidden europe 34.
