Discovering images tucked between the pages of his grandfather's Quran, photographer Abdullah Dhiaa al-Deen realized the holy book had become a family photo album and a map of a disappearing city. 

ABDULLAH DHIAA AL-DEEN 

Karbala, a city in central Iraq, has been transformed by political events and urban expansion. While development has answered practical needs, it has simultaneously erased layers of everyday life. Abdullah went on a quest to weave together the city’s forgotten history with his own family photos, handwritten notes, and images he’s taken today. The result is this stunning photo essay on the traces of a lost Iraq.  

GORDON GAHAN

In a 1970 National Geographic feature, paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey—son of Louis and Mary Leakey—recounted his discovery of a nearly complete Australopithecus boisei skull (now Paranthropus boisei), the same species his parents had found a decade earlier. See the extraordinary journey it took to uncover the ancient artifact. 

Today’s newsletter was edited and curated by Sidney Madden and produced by Amanda Williams-Bryant. Thanks for reading! Did someone forward this to you? Sign up for all our newsletters here. 

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