Nova Scotia Duck Tolling retriever Torrey competes in the 10th annual Petco Unleashed surfing dog contest at Imperial Beach, California August 1, 2015. Proceeds raised at the event go to benefit the San Diego Humane Society. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

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.

Elfyn Evans of Great Britain and Daniel Barritt of Great Britain compete in their M-Sport WRT Ford Fiesta RS WRC during Day One of the WRC Australia on September 11, 2015 in Coffs Harbour, Australia. (Photo by Massimo Bettiol/Getty Images)

A man dressed as Father Frost, Russian equivalent of Santa Claus, sits by the fire with a reindeer Yakut, marking winter solstice at the Royev Ruchey Park of Flora and Fauna in the Siberian Taiga wood in the suburbs of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, December 21, 2016. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Two 70 thousand RMB (about 11,310 USD) robots carry dishes and offer service for customers at a robot themed restaurant at Chunxi Road in Chengdu, China, December 11, 2014. The restaurant has 10 robots to serve as waiters. Each robot can carry simple dishes and offer simple greetings. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

A Snowboarder participates in a waterslide contest, which consists of gliding over a water pool embedded in snow, during the closing event of the ski resort of Nendaz, southwestern Switzerland, Monday, April 21, 2014. (Photo by Maxime Schmid/AP Photo/Keystone)

Sebastien Bourdais, of Colombia, makes a corner during practice for the IndyCar auto race Saturday, June 13, 2015, in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)