Agia Triada
Agia Triada or Merbaka, as it was called earlier, is a historic settlement built in the center of the Argolic plain and is 10km away from Nafplion and 8 km. from Argos.Agia Triada or Merbaka, as it was called earlier, is a historic settlement built in the center of the Argolic plain and is 10km away from Nafplion and 8 km. from Argos.
The etymology and origin of the name Merbaka varies as many theories have been formulated. The predominant, which is closer to the truth, is that the village was named after Wilhelm von Moerbeke (or Meerbeke). He was a Dominican,
Orientalist and philosopher who was elected in 1277 by Pope John 21, Archbishop of Corinth, who, according to Adolf Struck, had his seat in Merbaka, which dates back to 1200 AD. And is still preserved.
The name of the village as "Merbaka" dates back to the period of National Palingesia (1821-1828), as it appears in documents from the General State Archives of the State (GKK) as well as in the National Library's manuscripts.
Apart from this name, the village is also presented under the names Omerba and Merba, which trigger other theories about the origin of the name. According to this theory the present name of the village comes from the Turkish name Omer Aga.
Also the book "Nafplia" by Mich. Lambrinidis refers to a Turkish general named Abbarbey (or Omar Bachy), who built the tower in Argos. It is possible that his name was the starting point for the final name of the village of Merbaka.
Finally, another theory regarding the origin of the name suggests that it has an Arvanite origin. In this case, Mer means "take" and "blas" means belly. The compound name therefore gives the interpretative interpretation of "fertile location".
Making a historical retrospective and referring to the literature, the name Merbakas seems to be unknown in classical antiquity.
The Byzantine temple of Our Lady is the only element with which we can search for historical information about the village. The oldest name of the site where the temple was located was "Bousse". Merbakas was named, as evidenced by historical evidence after 1280. Historically, it first appeared with this name in 1700 in the Venetian Crimani census, according to which its population was 157 people. Later, General Makrigiannis mentions in his memoirs the essential contribution of the village residents to the struggle of liberation.
Merbaka or Agia Triada belongs to the unit of Midea of the Municipality of Nafplio and appears under the name of Agia Triada and according to the 2001 census it has 1267 inhabitants.
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