Phases of Establishing the Bulaq Press

1815: The first delegation, headed by Nicole El Masabki, was sent to Milan, Italy, to learn the principles of printing.

1820: The building of the Bulaq Press is completed by September of the same year.

September 1821: Assembling and placement of the press machines. Finished by January 1822.

January - August 1822: Training the employees and trying the machines and letters of the Press. Initiating the publishing process.

December 1822: The first publication by the Bulaq Press.

The first publication by the Bulaq Press was an 'Italian - Arabic Dictionary', conforming with the idea of Mohamed Aly of the necessity for openness towards Europe to achieve developement.

The need for translation emerged since then, and academic delegations were sent to Italy, as Italian language became the first foreign language taught in schools.