The monastery at Istra is a replica of Jerusalem, and the man who built it never meant it as a joke. Patriarch Nikon, the most powerful churchman in seventeenth-century Russia, founded New Jerusalem in 1656, and he set out to recreate the holy places of Palestine in the Russian countryside. The great Resurrection Cathedral copies the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, with a vast rotunda over a representation of the tomb, and the river nearby was renamed the Jordan, the hills around it given the names of Tabor and Olivet. For a while it was one of the most ambitious building projects in the country.
Nikon fell out with Tsar Alexei, and was stripped of his office and exiled, and the monastery was left unfinished for years. The architecture that followed is lovely in a restless way, with towers, tiled stoves and decorated walls. In December 1941, during the battle for Moscow, retreating German troops blew up the cathedral and the bell tower, leaving a smoking ruin. The restoration took decades, and the rebuilt rotunda is a quiet testimony to the effort. Inside, the cathedral is a vast, echoing space, and from the walls you can see the winding river and the fields beyond.
For a rider coming out of Moscow this is a natural half-day, close to the capital but far enough to feel like a different world. The roads in the area run west of the city through woodland, small towns and old villages, and the surface, as in most of the Moscow region, can be uneven, with patched asphalt and the odd hole, so it pays to keep an eye on the road ahead. Weekend traffic is heavy, and the main roads through Istra can be slow, so set off early. In the morning, the walls are quiet and the light on the stone is lovely.
Istra is a town of over thirty thousand people and has everything you need: fuel, cafes, shops and a few places to sit with a view of the walls. It makes sense to eat here rather than looking for something near the monastery, where the options are limited and expensive. Check opening times for the cathedral before you come, since the monastery is a museum and has its own schedule, and carry something to cover your head and shoulders if you plan to enter the church.