This research aims to embody the course of reading culture and efforts to disseminate knowledge in the last period of Ottoman history. Magazines, newspapers, and journals published during the reign of Abdülhamid II are in a unique position in following this course. The Maarif Risalesi, published in 238 issues between 1891-1896, provides many opportunities for researchers to evaluate this matter. The Maarif Risalesi was at the forefront with its visual use ahead of its time with articles from different disciplines such as anthropology, archeology, botany, geography, literature, education, history, technology, medicine, and zoology. It had a wide range of topics including tea, mineral water, animals such as parrots, whales; diseases such as influenza, cholera, malaria, etc. Furthermore, it introduced the transforming character of knowledge to intellectuals, students, and bureaucrats with its sophisticated and diverse reading network ranging from hair loss to the benefits of electricity. Articles evaluating the importance of development stages, personal characteristics, and abilities in education were also available in the Maarif. In particular, the articles published by Ayşe Sıdıka on pedagogy introduce readers to the first reflections of contemporary educational methods in Turkey. This study, which focuses on the journal's efforts to spread positivist information through a reading culture rather than its literary identity, was conducted using the survey model and document analysis, which are qualitative research methods. In this research, the approach to education was analyzed after the scientific reading culture and popularization of knowledge were discussed. As a result, this research was revealed that popular knowledge and reading culture underwent significant transformations in the last years of the Ottoman Empire, based on the Maarif.