BARTAN  , more correctly BARTIN, a

town in the vilayet of Kastamuni, Asiatic Turkey, retaining the name of the ancient village Parthenia and situated near the mouth of the Bartan-su (anc . Parthenius), which formed part of the boundary between Bithynia and Paphlagonia . Various aetiological explanations of the name Parthenius were given by the ancients, e.g. that the maiden Artemis hunted on its banks, or that the flow of its waters was gentle and maiden-like . The town, which is the residence of a kaimakam, is built on two low limestone hills and its streets are paved with limestone blocks . It is noted for the fine. box-wood grown in the vicinity, is a port of call for Black Sea coasting steamers and carries on a considerable trade with Constantinople which might be increased were it not for the obstruction of the harbour by a bar . Pop . 8677, according to Cuinet, La Turquie d'Asie (1894) .