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)
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.
An aerial view of 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)Mehmet Durak stands amid a plume of smoke while tending the kilns 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)Mehmet Durak tends the kilns 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)Mehmet Durak tends the kilns 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)Yakoub Durak carries a rake to help his father Mehmet Durak tend to the kilns 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)Mehmet Durak ties a bag filled with charcoal 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)Mehmet Durak tends the kilns 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)Mehmet Durak uses a rake to pick up chunks of charcoal at a 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)An aerial view shows the village Dikenli in Kocaeli province, Turkey, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, where many residents work in traditional charcoal production. 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)Mehmet Durak tends the kilns 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)
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