On our pilgrimage in 2013 we were able to take a closer look at the extraordinary complex of buildings, not far from Roussikon and known as the Silouan mill.
The four buildings are on top of each other and as we can on the pictures later, the water wheels are fed by water from a basin on top of the hill.
St Silouan lived from 1866–1938 and he is from Russian origin. He lived most of his life on Athos and he was canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1987.
A beautiful quote of this Holy Man was: “Those who dislike and reject their fellow-man are impoverished in their being. They do not know the true God, who is all-embracing love”. Wise words according to me.
But first let me show you some old pictures of the mill.
The first -yellow- picture is the oldest: the second bulding from below is smaller and on the third building the balconies do not appear. All water wheels are on the left side of the buildings.
The mills where used to grain wheat, as you can see on this painting of St. Silouan:
Here the water wheel is clearly visible: below an icon with St. Silouan and the water wheel.
The Silouan mill on the right above the bridge and in the background Skiti Xenofontos.
When you walk along the riverbed you will reach the mill (the iron bridge on the right top corner).
Nowadays the buildings are totaly overgrown
The entrance to the first building with a an old electromotor/waterpump.
The Russian control panel.
Inside the ground level building one: a -broken- wheel with cogwheels
Another room on the ground floor
with a broken stairway
a large water container cemented into the floor
The remnants of a balcony (still to be seen on the black and white picture above).
Next time we will take a closer look at the other three floors.
Wim, 31/8
