Cengiz Yar on the destruction of the Iraqi city of Mosul and his first book, This Alabaster Grave

This Alabaster Grave is Cengiz Yar’s first monograph exploring the overwhelming destruction and pain faced by the Iraqi city of Mosul, within the context of its history and unique, now largely ruined, architecture. The book questions the cost of the fight against ISIS and global war on terror as told through the lives and city that bore the brunt of its destructive force. The photographs were made between 2015 and 2023 and fluctuate between reportage and moments of contemplation. The book includes a foreword from Azmat Khan, an essay by Campbell MacDiarmid, and a pullout map. It is designed by Jason Koxvold of Gnomic Book and written in both English and Arabic. Near the end of the show Michael also asks Cengiz about his time in Minnesota during the height of the ICE protests. This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club - Begin Building your dream photobook library today at: Cengiz is a documentary photographer and editor based in El Paso, Texas. Cengiz has worked in visual journalism for over a decade, from reporting in the field to building groundbreaking online packages. He is currently a visuals editor at ProPublica, where he edits, photographs, and art-directs stories across the site. His primary focus is visual coverage of projects in the Midwest, Southwest, and Texas. Before joining ProPublica, he edited for publications like Rest of World, Roads & Kingdoms, and the Guardian. As a photographer his work has primarily focused on human migration and the conflicts in Iraq and Syria. He is the inaugural recipient of the James Foley Award for Conflict Reporting, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and a Dart Center Ochberg Fellow in Journalism and Trauma. His photography clients include Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, WIRED, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Instagram, Google, UNHCR, and The New York Times among others. He is HEFAT, RISC, and FAA drone pilot certified. His first monograph, This Alabaster Grave, was published in 2025 by Ocotillo Press.

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Cengiz Yar on the destruction of the Iraqi city of Mosul and his first book, This Alabaster Grave is an episode from Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton by Michael Chovan-Dalton.

This episode is 00:54:52 long.

This episode was published on Apr 13, 2026.

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