Edward Herbert Bunbury and Frederick William Hasluck

“ The country between them and the coast, covered with forests and traversed by few lines of route, is still imperfectly known. But the broad tract which projects towards the west as far as the shores of the Bosporus, though hilly and covered with forests—the Turkish Aghatch Denizi, or “The Ocean of Trees”—is not traversed by any mountain chain. ”

“ Bartan) , the boundary of the province towards the east, is a much less considerable stream.
The natural resources of Bithynia are still imperfectly developed. Its vast forests would furnish an almost inexhaustible supply of timber, if rendered accessible by roads. Coal also is known to exist near Eregli (Heraclea) . The valleys towards the Black Sea abound in fruit trees of all kinds, while the valley of the Sangarius and the plains near Brusa and Isnik (Nicaea) are fertile and well cultivated. ”