Located in the Gürpınar district of Van, 40 Mills (Çil Aş), one of our cultural heritages, has been waiting to be revived since 2013.
In the Değirmendüzü District of Gürpınar, 40 mills lined up side by side on the Xavesor Plain are being built, together with the Şamran (Menua) Canal, which was built by the Urartians approximately 2,700 years ago.
These mills are connected to the Mejingir spring water, which is also fed by the Shamran Canal. This cultural heritage, passed from Urartians to Armenians, from Armenians to Kurds, unfortunately turns into ruins over time. The life water of these mills, which are fed from the same spring water, is partially cut off in 1986 and completely in 2013 and given to Van as drinking water.
40 Mill of Xaversor Plain
The products grown in the fields affected by the air of the Xavesor Plain and the water of the Shamran Canal were brought to these mills until the early 2000s. In this way, 40 mills were working like 40 factories. Products were brought to the mills from the Iranian border, especially from the center of Van and its districts, and they were working day and night. People continued milling from generation to generation by teaching this to their children.
Many of these mills have been demolished in the last 20 years and some have been converted into homes. While only 13 of these mills have survived to the present day, one of them was restored by its owner, but this mill could not be operated due to lack of water. Over time, when electric mills were developed as an alternative to thirst, these mills were completely forgotten.
Mehmet Siddik Yilmaz
Although the 13 mills that have survived to the present day were registered and taken under protection in 2010, restoration is not carried out. In the mills that have been left to their own fate and have not been produced since 2010, it is forbidden to move even a single stone from its place since that year.
One of the last strongholds of milling: Mehmet Sıddık Yılmaz
Mehmet Sıddık Yılmaz, who learned milling from his father, spends his childhood years in these mills. His milling adventure, which he started in 1988, ends in 2013. Yılmaz, who earned his living from milling until 2013, states that not only he but 70 percent of the people in Gürpınar district make a living from this business.
Stating that people turn to different jobs after milling is over, Yılmaz is currently working in a different job. He says that the water mill has a special working mechanism: “Wheat was ground in these mills with the husk. Since the grinding process is not as fast as electricity, it did not burn the crop, and therefore the bread was more delicious. No matter how many days the bread was kept, it was always fresh. But nowadays, bread goes stale when it is kept for two days.”
‘I could not transfer the profession I learned from my father to my son’
Yılmaz, who could not transfer the profession to his children as he learned from his father, said, “This profession is passed on from father to son. I learned it from my own father and my father from my grandfather. For about 35 years, my father and I have been milling for 24 years. If the mills were working right now, I would teach my children, they would continue. Of course, since there is no water anymore, I thought it was pointless to teach them this job. “Unfortunately, this tradition can no longer continue.”
A tradition handed down from the past
Stating that these mills are history, Yılmaz said, “These mills were left to the Armenians from the Urartians. We got them too. Unfortunately, these mills cannot be operated today. I want the mills to be protected and this tradition to continue. I want a few more mills activated. I think this should continue. It’s nice that it was taken under protection, but these mills are still unclaimed. At the very least, it needs to be raised.”
Video: Zafer Avnas
Drone: Dildar Guler
Translator :Akif Coşkun
