Bozcaada reunites with its millennial windmills

ÇANAKKALE

Bozcaada, one of the most popular tourism destinations in the northern Aegean, reunites with its millennial silhouette with the renovation of its historic windmills on its northern and southern sides of the island.

The windmills, located on one of the most important tourism spots in the northwestern province of Çanakkale and Turkey’s third largest island of Bozcaada, had been destroyed from the ravages of time and remained idle for years before the restoration.

A project by the Bozcaada District Governorate detected the locations of the windmills using old photographs collected from inhabitants of the island. Then, the locations were cleaned and leveled for reconstruction of the windmills.

Two windmills with a diameter of 4 meters and a height of 6.5 meters have been reconstructed on the southern side of the island.

The reconstruction of a windmill on the northern end of the island is still in progress.

The completion of the windmills is expected to attract many amateur and professional artists who want to take photos to the island. Even though the landscaping has yet to be completed, many photographers are already trying to immortalize the unique landscape of Bozcaada with its windmills.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Bozcaada District Governor İbrahim Gültekin said that the windmills shed light on a history of a thousand years. He stated that the windmills had been used for centuries but succumbed to time due to neglect and other reasons.
“Unfortunately, the windmills collapsed 50-60 years ago due to lack of care. In fact, when we started the project, one of them was in ruins. But after that, I hope we will almost complete the process with the landscaping and lighting as important as the construction of the mill,” Gültekin said.

Two of the windmills will be used for milling wheat into flour in accordance with their original historical purpose. The third will be used to welcome tourists, Gültekin said.

He said the project has sparked curiosity among the island’s residents.

“After the mills have a certain silhouette, this curiosity will be more. Even when the construction is underway, it is receiving much attention,” he said.