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)

A brown capuchin monkey holds a fruit in the Botanic Garden of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 5, 2013. (Photo by Pablo Porciuncula/AFP Photo)

Beautiful, strange and occasionally alarming pictures from the shortlist for this year’s Wellcome image awards – which celebrate the very best in science photography and imaging – from an x-ray of a bat to a micrograph of a kidney stone. The exhibition opens on 12 March at three science centres and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. Photo: Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of an Arabidopsis thaliana flower, also commonly known as thale cress. Some of the anthers are open, revealing pollen grains ready for dispersal. Arabidopsis was the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced and is widely used as a model organism in molecular and plant biology. Horizontal width of image is 1200 microns. Magnification 100x. (Photo by Stefan Eberhard/Wellcome Images)

Demonstrators argue in front of the Louisville Metro Hall on September 5, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Ahead of the Kentucky Derby, demonstrators clashed over recent looting and destruction in the area and the death of Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by Louisville Metro police officers during a no-knock raid at her apartment on March 13, 2020. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

A handout TV grab made available by the Demiroren News Agency (DHA) on September 12, 2020, shows a freak sandstorm sweeping over Polatli, in Ankara, on September 12, 2020. A freak sandstorm hit Ankara on September 12, 2020, the Turkish capital's mayor said, as officials said six people were injured after strong winds. (Photo by Handout/DHA via AFP Photo)

Two guests pose prior to the Dolce & Gabbana 2021 women's spring-summer ready-to-wear collection during the Milan's fashion week in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, September 23, 2020. (Photo by Luca Bruno/AP Photo)

Russian people walk during heavy rain in Moscow, Russia on 17 September 2020. Over two hours a third of the monthly average rainfall fell in Moscow. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)

Bystanders look at MV Wakashio bulk carrier that had run aground and from which oil is leaking near Blue Bay Marine Park in south-east Mauritius on August 6, 2020. The carrier, belonging to a Japanese company but Panamanian-flagged, ran aground on July 25 and its crew was evacuated safely. The ship was empty at the time but was carrying 200 tonnes of diesel and 3,800 tonnes of bunker fuel, according to the local press. (Photo by Dev Ramkhelawon/L'Express Maurice/AFP Photo)