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)

This photo provided by NASA shows a full moon rising behind the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft onboard at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 41, Sunday, November 17, 2013, Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA's next Mars-bound spacecraft, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, is the first spacecraft devoted to exploring and understanding the Martian upper atmosphere. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/AP Photo/NASA)

A female soccer player controls a ball during a training session at the Golab Trust Sport Complex in Kabul March 10, 2014. Despite decades of conflict in Afghanistan, and several recent militant attacks, the country's capital Kabul is home to a vibrant youth scene of musicians, artists, athletes and activists. Shopping malls and cafes stand in the city, which is nonetheless beset by infrastructure problems and instability. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/Reuters)

Los Angeles city firefighters battle a massive fire at a seven-story downtown apartment complex under construction in Los Angeles, California December 8, 2014. Over 250 firefighters battle the early morning blaze which shutdown two major freeways the Los Angeles Fire Department and California Highway Patrol said. (Photo by Gene Blevins/Reuters)

This extraordinary series of close-up photos turns mundane insects into terrifying beasts from another world. The bugs are captured in intricate detail by photographer Javier Ruperez, using a special lens, revealing just how complex the tiny creatures are. (Photo by Javier Ruperez/Solent News & Photo Agency)

A National Transitional Council (NTC) fighter fires an RPG during a street battle in the 700 complex area of “Emarat” against Muammar Gaddafi's troops on October 8, 2011 in Sirte, Libya. NTC fighters say this is the final assault on Muammar Gaddafi's home town as they capture the main hospital, University and the Ouagadougou conference centre in the city. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

PALEMBANG, SUMATRA, INDONESIA - NOVEMBER 14: Fitriyani Fitriyani (L) of Indonesia and Janice Ng (R) of Singapore compete in the Sport Climbing Womens Speed Track Finals on day four of the 2011 Southeast Asian Games at Jakabaring Sports Complex on November 14, 2011 in Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)