Märcani Mosque, 18th century mosque in İske Bistä, Kazan, Russia

Märcani Mosque is a two-story white building with a green hipped roof and a tall minaret rising from the roof center. The minaret has a cylindrical shaft, a small balcony with dark railing, an octagonal upper section, and a steep green conical spire topped by a gold finial. The facade features arched windows framed by pilasters and carved decorative panels.

The mosque opened in 1770, making it the first stone mosque approved by Catherine the Great after centuries of restrictions on Islamic construction in the region. This permission marked a turning point in how the Russian Empire treated the religious needs of its Tatar population.

The mosque is named after imam Şihabetdin Märcani, who served here from 1850 to 1889; earlier it was called Yunısov after the merchant family that funded its upkeep. The first floor is a service level, while the second-floor prayer halls have vaults and walls decorated with blue, green and gold stucco and gilded plant ornaments. A pre-Kazan Khanate era gravestone of Muhammad-gali bek is kept in the mosque.

The mosque stands in the Old Tatar Quarter between Kayum Nasyri Street and the bank of Lake Qaban. The ground floor is a service level; the prayer halls are on the second floor, reached by the northern stair annex added in 1861. Visitors should dress modestly and avoid the halls during prayers.

The mosque holds a gravestone of Muhammad-Gali bek from the Kazan Khanate era, kept inside the building. It was also the only working mosque in Kazan during the Soviet period, which is why worship here never stopped.