Travel photographer Amos Chapple recently crossed into Turkmenistan on a three-day transit visa and was able to photograph many of the sights and monuments in Ashgabat, the capital and largest city. Turkmenistan is a single-party country, a former Soviet state, run by a president at the center of a cult of personality.

Photo: A young couple leave the Alem Entertainment Center in Ashgabat. The current president has a history of breaking obscure records. In 2012 the wheel atop this complex was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest enclosed Ferris wheel. The structure was built at a cost of $90m. (Photo by Amos Chapple via The Atlantic)

Russian honor guard soldiers warm up prior a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, May 3, 2017. The parade will take place at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square on May 9, to celebrate 72 years after the victory in WWII. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Emily Ratajkowski arrives at The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala, celebrating the opening of “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” on Monday, May 2, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP Photo)

A horse is ridden out of the River Eden after being washed on the first day of the Appleby Horse Fair on June 7, 2018 in Appleby, England. The fair is an annual gathering for Gypsy, Romany and travelling communities. The event has existed under the protection of a charter granted by James II since 1685 and it remains one of the key meeting points for these communities. Around 10,000 travellers are expected to attend the event who traditionally come to buy and sell horses and it offers an opportunity for the traveller community to come together to celebrate their heritage and culture. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

Two Girls who managed to evade the police walk away as police on foot and horseback push back to te curd at Park Row, In New York on April 26, 1960, A milling throng of more than 1,000 High students who storned city hall in a Demonstration supporting teachers wage demands. (Photo by AP Photo)

Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen walks the ramp to showcase the creation of designer Sunita Shanker during Lakme fashion week winter 2018 in Mumbai, India, Thursday, August 23, 2018. (Photo by Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo)

Rev. Yeon Ah Lee Moon of the Sanctuary Church holds a gold AR-15 during a ceremony to rededicate marriages at the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania, USA, 28 February 2018. The church, a breakaway from the Unification Church, believes guns are a symbol of the “rod of iron” referenced in the Book of Revelations. (Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/EFE)

A girl looks on at a diver dressed as Santa Claus performing during a promotional event for Christmas in Seoul, South Korea on December 3, 2021. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)