WHAT I SEE FROM MY BEDROOM WINDOW....

Every morning, as I open my bedroom window, I look outside and I see two windmills on the top of a small hill in a Forest Park, maybe 300 meters away from my eyes. They always greet me in a very unique way, though they are not working for several years already.

These two windmills were built in the mids of XVIII century, for the Irish Dominican nuns of a nearby Convent. Nowadays, they are in Lisbon, the only perfectly preserved evidence of the significant mill activity developed by dozens of mills across the westside of the city that were the flour suppliers to the populations. The Santana Mills - so the two windmills are called - used to supply the Royal Palace - whose tower tops you can see a bit farther -  and they were acquired by the City Hall in 1942 and restored a few years later. They preserve the circular tower and chapel of four triangular sails, the typical structure of Portuguese windmills.

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You may wonder about those ceramic pots. We call them winkles or horns. They are all different in size. The function of these essential parts played an important role in the people's daily life. As the wind blew on the winkles, it made them emit a very peculiar sound that could be heard over long distances. As the peasants heard it, they used to say 'The windmill is singing', They knew the miller was at the mill, ready to start milling the grain. The sacks of grain were carried on donkeybacks.

 

This happened a long time ago, much before I was born. How I would have liked to have heard that song..

I have already thought of moving to another apartment as this one where I have been living for over 35 years, has become a bit big for one person, only. However, the moment I think of it, the moment I change my mind. How could I open the window of another bedroom and not see those windmills? I would surely miss my beloved windmills...