Therapio

Therapio (means treatment) is a village on the north bank of the Ardas River, near the borders with Bulgaria, between the villages of Milia to the west and Komara to the east. The area had been densely populated since the past. Roman baths and springs were a little further west on the present Bulgarian soil.

The name of the village comes probably from an odd “custom”: At the time of the Assumption many people suffering from rheumatism were coming to the little church of the Assumption to be healed through a special procedure; they were opening pits and burning wood until they become ashes. Then, they were placing twigs of herbaceous plants, called “vouzia”, which formed a thick layer and into the pit was laying the patient. He was covered well with blankets and lived there as much as he could, as the heat was intense.

Near Therapio there is the dam of the Ardas River, at the point where the valley narrows. The plain of Orestiada is watered from the waters stored in the dam and transferred through channels to all directions. The bridge over the dam allows pedestrians and small vehicles to pass the shore and reach the village of Kyprinos.