Archaeologists at Topraktepe, a mound in southern Turkey identified with the early Byzantine city of Irenopolis, unearthed five carbonized bread loaves dating to the seventh or eighth century CE.

One of the unearthed loaves carried an image of Christ portrayed as a sower scattering grain and an ancient Greek inscription reading,”With our gratitude to Blessed Jesus”.

The remaining four loaves show cross-shaped imprints, further suggesting they were used in early Christian rituals as Eucharistic or communion bread.

The Topraktepe loaves, preserved with exceptional clarity, provided tangible evidence of how early Christians enacted their devotion through everyday objects like bread.

Topraktepe, also known as the “City of Peace,” served as an important bishopric center during the Roman and Byzantine periods.

Researchers said the objects likely served as communion loaves for a rural Anatolian congregation that depended on its crops.

“These 1,300-year-old breads shed new light on a fascinating chapter of early Byzantine life. They prove that piety extended beyond prayers and ceremonies, materializing in objects that carried spiritual significance to the most basic human need: bread,” a member of the excavation team said.

The loaves survived because an abrupt fire carbonized them, locking in their form and decoration.

Provincial authorities called them “among the best-preserved examples identified in Anatolia to date,” according to a communiqué relayed by Posta.

Material culture at Topraktepe already included necropolises, rock-cut chambers, and fortifications, but few artifacts spoke so directly to everyday devotion.

“This is evaluated as indicating the symbolic importance of abundance and labor in the religious understanding of the period,” the statement added.

Officials also noted that such provincial evidence differed from urban practice in Constantinople, emphasizing how rural worship remained intertwined with agriculture.

Archaeologists plan chemical and botanical analyses to learn which grains and leavening agents the bakers employed and to determine whether the loaves were leavened prosphora or served another liturgical purpose such as antidoron. They also hope to locate a nearby chapel that might have stored the bread.

“The survival of Eucharistic bread from the seventh and eighth centuries is extremely rare, making the loaves from Topraktepe a unique window into primitive Christian worship,” the research team concluded.

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For the first time in the 20-year history of the Henley Passport Index, the United States passport has fallen out of the top 10 global ranking of travel mobility. The ranking is compiled by the global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, using exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association.

Three Asian passports now lead the index: Singapore (193 visa-free destinations), South Korea (190 destinations), Japan (189 destinations).

The US is now positioned in 12th place, tied with Malaysia, offering visa-free access to 180 of the 227 destinations tracked.

The US passport, which held the No. 1 spot in 2014 and was still in the top 10 as recently as July of this year, has seen its standing decline due to several global access changes.

The descent of the US passport is attributed to a series of reciprocal and unilateral policy shifts by other nations: Brazil withdrew visa-free access for US citizens in April due to a lack of reciprocity.

China expanded its visa exemption policies for several European nations (like Germany and France) but did not include the US. New policies in Papua New Guinea and Myanmar reduced the US passport’s mobility relative to others.

The final changes included Somalia’s launch of a new eVisa system and Vietnam’s exclusion of the US from its latest visa-free additions.

Christian H. Kaelin, chair of Henley & Partners, stated that this decline “signals a fundamental shift in global mobility and soft power dynamics,” where “Nations that embrace openness and cooperation are surging ahead, while those resting on past privilege are being left behind.” The UK passport has also dropped, falling two places since July to its lowest-ever position at 8th.

In contrast to the US decline, other nations have made significant gains:

China has climbed sharply from 94th place in 2015 to 64th in 2025, gaining visa-free access to 37 more destinations.The UAE is noted as one of the biggest success stories, having risen 34 places in the past decade, from No. 42 to 8th place.

At the bottom of the list, Afghanistan remains in last place at No. 106, with visa-free access to just 24 destinations.

The US’s decline is also seen as a reflection of its “limited openness.” While US citizens can travel to 180 destinations visa-free, the US allows only 46 nationalities to enter without a visa, a disparity that is one of the widest globally.

This retreat in international engagement has led to a surge in demand from Americans for alternative residence and citizenship options. Despite the fall in rankings, experts still note that the top passports remain highly desirable, with the difference for the average person being minimal.

The Henley list is one of several indices measuring passport power. Arton Capital’s Passport Index for 2025 places the United Arab Emirates in the top spot.

World’s most powerful passports for 2025 (Henley Passport Index)

Singapore (193 destinations)
South Korea (190)
Japan (189)
Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland (188)
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Netherlands (187)
Greece, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden (186)
Australia, Czech Republic, Malta, Poland (185)
Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (184)
Canada (183)
Latvia, Liechtenstein (182)
Iceland, Lithuania (181)
USA, Malaysia (180)

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