Father and sons keep a traditional charcoal craft alive, in photos

Yakoub Durak stacks wood into a pile at a charcoal production site in a forest in Kocaeli province, Turkey, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. A handful of family-run producers continue the region’s traditional practice of slowly carbonizing hardwood in earthen kilns to make charcoal for barbecues and restaurants. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Posted Tuesday, August 25, 2026 9:01 pm

By KHALIL HAMRA

Mehmet Durak and his two sons work together at a family-run charcoal production site in the forests of Turkey’s Kocaeli province. There, they tend earthen kilns as hardwood slowly turns into charcoal.

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Wednesday, October 21, 2026

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Father and sons keep a traditional charcoal craft alive, in photos

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