Today, when people mention Bulaq, it is often with a dismissive shrug to what is perceived as a crowded, lower-income neighborhood overshadowed by glossier parts of Cairo. But peel back the layers of concrete and memory, and you will find that Bulaq was once the beating heart of Egypt’s intellectual and cultural awakening. It is where the country’s first printing press was born, and where ideas, not just ink, first flowed into the bloodstream of modern Egypt. Under the direction of Muhammad Ali Pasha, Egypt launched a modernization project that included sending a delegation to Milan to study the art of printing. In 1821, that mission resulted in the opening of what would become the Bulaq Press. A year later, it published its first book, an Arabic-Italian dictionary. The press quickly became a tool for spreading knowledge, printing not only Arabic texts, but also translating scientific books, government decrees, and school curricula. It was state-owned and operated, shaping education, governance, and communication in the early years of the Egyptian state. For several decades, the Bulaq Press held an important place in Egyptian public life. Its name changed over time, from…
