Old windmills of Bodrum peninsula and a method of conservation

Since the humankind started to deal with agriculture, it has seen that they flour their food to be able to eat. Especially wheat has been the most useful food, because it is easy to grow on any kind of soil or and in climate. In different regions people developed varied methods of milling wheat to make flour. Milling process is the oldest industrial branch which appeared at the beginning of agriculture. Mills are and have been very important equipments for meet people's basis need, feeding. The early types of mills were using human or animal power. After a technological revolution, mills had developed the first types which use water and wind energy. Mills have been used to grind wheat, rice and corn to make flour; olives and sesame to make oil. In Anatolia, there have been varieties of mill types. On the coast of Black Sea, water mills are more common and they're still used at some villages. The western coast of Turkey - where does not have water source enough - wind energy is used. There are 165 of windmills have been documented among Anatolia during this thesis research. Wood and stone are base materials for windmill structures. The windmills in general of the Aegean coast and the thesis area, were built by stone in a circular shape. The only exceptions to this type of windmills are the ones at Balıkesir. They are wooden mills which are known as post mills. The mills which had developed in variety types in different cultures are now abandoned because of today's technological circumstances. The tradition of milling culture is waiting to be saved. The situation of the windmills of the Bodrum peninsula is documented by photographs. Adaptive re-use conservation strategy is developed from the samples of these windmills to keep alive the milling culture for the later generations. Windmills which keep the original function are not found during the thesis study. Some windmills are reused with adaptive functions such as, housing, museums, restaurants and storage areas. The rest are waiting to be vanished. In this thesis, 67 windmills of Bodrum Peninsula are documented by drawings and photographs. All these documentation brought together in a catalog which is added at the end of the thesis. There is also a restitution project which is developed with the information from existing parts of the windmills and from the bibliography and old photographs. Windmills are important mechanisms of traditional production. They are examples of the oldest industrial mechanisms. It is very important to protect and pass on to future generations. If there won't be a study about the windmills conservation, this industrial heritage will be eventually vanished.