Gündoğmuş Water Mills

History and General Information / Local Legends and Folklore Gündoğmuş Centuries-Old Water Mills are living ethnographic monuments, built during the Ottoman period on the rushing mountain streams of the Taurus Mountains, documenting hundreds of years of traditional grain grinding culture and water engineering. Before electricity and modern industry, mills were vital production centers that turned the wheat, barley and corn of all Gündoğmuş, Akseki and Alanya villages into flour. According to local legends, the rhythmic sound of the millstone rotating day and night was considered the pulse of the mountain villages; The honesty and fairness of the millers were considered the measure of Yoruk justice, and the villagers waiting for the flour sacks would sing poems and tell Taurus tales at the mill all night long. Geographical Structure, Altitude and Natural Features The mills are located at an altitude of approximately 700 to 850 meters above sea level, on the edge of steeply sloping stream beds on the valley floor. The mill structure was built using local rubble stones and cedar beams, without mortar. The kinetic energy of water falling from a height through wooden troughs (wheel grooves) rotates the lower wooden wheel (cabinet), and this movement turns the upper grinding stone weighing tons through the shaft. The mill is surrounded by centuries-old plane trees, wild mint and blackberries. Visiting Hours, Days and Entrance Fees