Water.
That is what gives life.
We see the proof of that from this photo; so much greenery, all that reed, the orchards (covered with a net to protect the fruits from the birds), the trees... all this because there is a little river in the middle, the river Algar. We also see a little canal which is a part of the irrigation system, a system of many little canals that is so important in this area to bring the same life - water - to the orchards.
There are some reservoirs where water from several rivers accumulates. The water from the Algar River and Guadalest River accumulates in this reservoir, which is then provided by the irrigation system to the gardens throughout the whole area.
While I was taking a photo of this water reservoir, someone took a photo of that activity. I didn't know that, but later I found it out when the photo was already posted on Hive 😁 in this post. Anyway, let's forget it as water and nature are the protagonists here. Also, the little canals that lead water to those who need it.
In the past, the water from the same little rivers was used also for another purpose. It was the power of a few mills that could be found in the area. Nowadays, just the ruins of one of them survived the test of time. Molí dels Moros (Moors Mill, but also called Old Mill).
One can access that mill just via the path through the reed. That is where our walk happened last weekend when I finally decided to enter this mill and take a look.
A few years ago the building was restored to prevent further deterioration of it. The walls are still here and its vault is quite well preserved. Just imagine, it survived so many centuries as the mill is believed to date back to the Middle Ages. The Arabs were masters of making good irrigation systems for the flourishing of agriculture. This old medieval mill looks pretty good then, taking into account the age of it.
The metal fence and the concrete stairs were added a few years ago when it was partly restored. Unfortunately, since then it has been forgotten again.
From this spot, I could climb to the roof of the mill. The ladder that serves to climb to the roof was funny - I mean almost unusable. A bit broken and grown into grass. Anyway, it didn't stop me. I went up.
It seems that the roof was also restored, with a layer of concrete to prevent the deterioration. It doesn't even seem so high, because the reed around the mill is also so tall.
Oh, there is a shadow in the photo. Whoever it was, what the heck she/he was doing there, on the top of a medieval mill? There are no dragons to fight with. Maybe a modern Don Quixote to fight this mill then?
This hole was probably the spot where the water was entering the mill from the water reservoir. My husband explained to me (as he attended some workshops - excursions to mills and learned about their history and functioning) that there were reservoirs on the roof of the mills to collect the water for several hours. When it was full, the water went through a canal (from the top of the building and it had to be around 5 meters tall) which narrowed gradually. The pressure of the water moved some blades of a big rotor, and it turned the shaft. This force was used to move the circular stone and grind the cereals.
So, let's enter the mill and see what we can see from all of it! This was the main entrance:
There are no installations anymore inside the mill (the grinding stones, shafts etc...), but we can see the hole (where the canal for water was).
The walls are propped up with these metal beams to prevent them from collapsing.
The interior of the building may have had more rooms, but now it is just one space. I didn't go down to the basement as there were no ladders or means to come up later.
The water that was used to power the mill came out through these openings and went back into the irrigation canals. Water is the source of life, right? They already knew this well in the past; I think we all agree that we should also preserve that resource. Water.
