A girl walks along rice paddy fields during “National Paddy Day”, which marks the start of the annual rice planting season, in Tokha village on the outskirts of Kathmandu on June 29, 2020. Splashing mud and drinking local rice beer, Nepali farmers this week celebrated National Paddy Day to mark the beginning of the rice-planting season, despite some coronavirus lockdown measures still in place. Traditional farming songs and laughter echoed in the air as farmers waded into waterlogged fields to sow green paddy. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

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)

An Indonesian devotee cleans and purifies a holy statue of the Gods with tea, roses and cendana water at Suka Loka Tri Dharma Temple on January 26, 2022 in Surabaya, Indonesia. Countries around Southeast Asia are set to welcome a lively Chinese New Year, despite implementing strict health protocols as Chinese populations curtail celebrations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first day of the Lunar New Year, on February 1, will usher in the Year of the Tiger. (Photo by Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images)

A mermaid poses under water during a shoot with photographer Brett Stanley during MerMagic Con at the Freedom Aquatic Center in Manassas, Virginia on August 7, 2021. MerMagic Con is advertised as the largest Mermaid convention in the world. Some parts of the convention are based on modeling and looks like the Miss Mermaid USA Pageant. The Society of Fat Mermaids looks to bring together plus size people and promote the idea that anyone can become a mermaid. Becoming a mermaid is not cheap, most merfolk spend thousands of dollars on their tail and outfit. Most tails are custom made out of silicone and others are foam and fabric. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso/AFP Photo)

The Nebraska Cornhuskers huddle before Wednesday’s match against the Omaha Mavericks at Memorial Stadium on August 30, 2023 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Dylan Widger/USA Today Sports)

A model wears a see-through dress during South African designer Gavin Rajah's show during Johannesburg Fashion Week 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, November 9, 2023. (Photo by Jerome Delay/AP Photo)

A woman carries her cat as Palestinians who had taken refuge in temporary shelters return to their homes in eastern Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during the first hours of a four-day truce in the battles between Israel and Hamas militants, on November 24, 2023. A four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war began on November 24, with hostages set to be released in exchange for prisoners in the first major reprieve in seven weeks of war that have claimed thousands of lives. (Photo by Mahmud Hams/AFP Photo)

American actress Kelsey Asbille Chow attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld)