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)

“Stacked Supercell with Lightning”. This huge mesocyclone supercell was near the Nebraska / Kansas border on the night of June 22nd, 2012. What a stunning structure! (Photo and caption by Jennifer Brindley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

In this Monday, April 27, 2015 photo, a Nepalese man walks over fallen rocks and past a crushed car on the way to Dhunche, Nepal, a village in Langtang National Park, two days after a 7.8-magnatude earthquake hit the region. The photographer, Joe Sieder, said the man was part of a group of Nepalese workers and trekkers who left Syabrubesi earlier that day and hiked about 30 km (19 miles) for 13 hours, mostly over boulder-strewn roads with some small landslides along the way to make their way to a passable road. (Photo by Joe Sieder via AP Photo)

A handout image released by the Taronga Zoo shows Veiled Chameleon hatchlings at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, 11 March 2015. Taronga has welcomed more than 20 baby chameleons, with the last of three clutches of eggs hatching this week. Veiled Chameleons, or Chamaeleo calyptratus, are native to Saudi Arabia and Yemen and can live up to five years. (Photo by EPA/Taronga Zoo)

A woman whose livelihood depends on selling recyclable wastes collects trash from a dumping site while surrounded by Marabou storks on the outskirts of Uganda's capital Kampala March 31, 2015. (Photo by James Akena/Reuters)

Members of the Gafatar sect walk in the rain as they evacuate their compound, which was later burned down by local villagers, in Antibar village, Mempawah Regency, Indonesia West Kalimantan Province, January 19, 2016 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Local authorities and police moved the sect members to an army barracks located some 70 km (43 miles) away from Antibar for their safety following recent disputes between the sect and the villagers, Antara said on Tuesday. (Photo by Jessica Helena Wuysang/Reuters/Antara Foto)

A participant of “Bread Procession of the Saint”, takes part in the ceremony in honor of Domingo de La Calzada Saint (1019-1109) who helped poor people and pilgrimage, in Santo Domingo de La Calzada, northern Spain, Wednesday, May 11, 2016. Every year during spring season, “Las Doncellas” (White Virgins), hold on their head a basket cover with white cloth while they walk past along of this old village in honor of the saint. (Photo by Alvaro Barrientos/AP Photo)

Competitors Hope Garcia (L) and Francesca Esker during the newly reintroduced Muscle Beach Vintage Swimsuit competition at Venice Beach, California on May 30, 2016. Venice is one of two historic bodybuilding locations and took over as the most famous spot when the nearby Santa Monica Muscle beach was shutdown due to overcrowding. California Governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger used to be a regular amongst the many famous bodybuilders and actors who have trained there and still makes an occasional appearance. (Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP Photo)