The Gyurpnar (Yervandunik) province of the state of Van in modern-day Turkey is famous for its Vana Fortress and Haykaberd Fortress, as well as 40 watermills, but the historic watermills have been on the verge of extinction for nearly 3 years now, reports artsakhpress.am.

The Allturkey.am Turkological portal reports that the 40 watermills built by the Armenians are placed side-by-side and are located a couple of meters away from each other. The 15 watermills working before 2010 stopped working three years ago. Some watermills have been turned into homes, and the rest are destroyed and abandoned.

There was a time when the Armenians built and owned these watermills, and even the names are Armenian. After the Armenians left these areas, the villagers took ownership. The last watermills have been closed down and have been turned into ruins over the past two years.

One of the reasons for closing the watermills down was the emigration in the 1990s, which led to the emptying of the villages and the destruction of these structures. The other reason is that the water supply ensuring the functioning of these watermills was stopped.

One of the villagers, Mustafa Gyul, has filed a lawsuit against the Turkish water sewerage company since the state company has stopped providing water supply, stopping the functioning of the watermills. However, the judicial proceedings have not been fruitful.