About Publisher

It began as a commercial printing press on the ground floor of a large house numbered 70 on Al-Fagalah Street (a street then famous for its printing presses). The building was originally owned by Khalil Al-Zahar and was later purchased by Mr. Abdel Rahim Al-Demerdashy Pasha.

In 1910, the printing press was developed into Dar Al-Maaref for Publishing, following the rental of a shop within the same house, which became the Dar Al-Maaref Bookstore.

In 1953, the numbering system of properties on Al-Fagalah Street changed, and the address became 9 Al-Fagalah Street, which is currently one of Dar Al-Maaref’s branches. As book publishing activities expanded, the current headquarters was built and the publishing house moved there on March 1, 1950, to what was then 5 Maspero Street.

Later, the street name and building number changed to the current 1119 Nile Corniche Road, near Abdel Moneim Riad Square. A side annex was also built for the main headquarters. In 1963, many public institutions were nationalized, including Dar Al-Maaref.

Currently, Dar Al-Maaref has 21 branches across Egypt, offering and selling all of its publications.

Current Chairman of the Board: Said Abdo Mostafa

Dar Al-Maaref enriched the Arabic library by publishing works of many leading writers such as Taha Hussein, Tawfiq Al-Hakim, Al-Mazni, Mohamed Mandour, Ibrahim Nagi, Ahmed Hassan Al-Zayyat, Aisha Abdel Rahman, Shawqi Dayf, Ahmed Mostagheer, and Sayed Shalaby.

It is also notable for being the only publishing house that allowed writers of all political and ideological backgrounds—from fundamentalists and Salafists to Marxists and communists—to publish their works in its presses.