The Birth of Turkish Printing

The printing press existed in Europe for nearly 300 years before the first Turkish book was

ever printed in 1729. While Gutenberg revolutionized Europe in the 1450s,

the Ottoman Empire hesitated. The art of calligraphy was sacred, and there were concerns

about printing religious texts. The first press actually arrived in Istanbul in 1493

with Jewish communities, followed by Armenians and Greeks for their own languages. It took a man named

İbrahim Müteferrika to finally establish a Turkish press, printing an Arabic-Turkish dictionary as the

first book. This single event kickstarted a massive shift, spreading knowledge

and forever changing society.