Abdallah Zakher el-Shammas (عبد الله زاخر) (1684–1748) was a Syrian-born typographer and Catholic deacon who set up the first printing press in the Middle East.
His printing press used Arabic movable type and was installed in 1733 in the motherhouse of the Basilian Chouerite Order, the monastery of Saint John the Baptist at El Khenchara in Mount Lebanon,[1] where it still can be visited.
Zakher was also an accomplished writer and craftsman. He was a Melkite Christian at the time of the Church's reaffirmation of communion with the Catholic Church.
References
- ↑ Joseph Abou Nohra. "Les Origines et le Rayonnement culturel de la première imprimerie à caractères Arabes au Liban (1733)". Archived from the original on 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2009-04-08.
Sources
- “The First Arabic Script Printing Press in Lebanon”, an article by Pascal Zoghbi, with pictures from the Zakher foundry.
- Tourist attractions report of Lebanon mentioning Zakher
- Intro to book on Zakher
- Jules Leroy and Peter Collin, Monks and Monasteries of the Near East (Gorgias Press, 2004), p. 122-123
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