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 car stands in water on Ferry Road after two magnitude 6.0 and 5.5 earthquakes struck on June 13, 2011 in Christchurch, New Zealand. The aftershocks have followed four months after the major eathquake which hit the city on February 22, 2011 resulting in the deaths of 181 people. (Photo by Martin Hunter/Getty Images)

This Saturday, July 22, 2017 photo released by Tokyo Zoological Park Society, shows a giant panda cub at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. The baby panda, born in June, got a check up on Saturday. (Photo by Tokyo Zoological Park Society via AP Photo)

Kubra Korkut of Turkey in action against Viktoriia Safonova of the Russian Paralympic Committee during Class 7 Group B Women's Singles Table Tennis Match on day 2 of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on August 26, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)

A model presents creations by Japanese designer Ayano Ichige from the Autumn/Winter 2022 collection for the label “NON TOKYO” during the Tokyo Fashion Week in Tokyo, Japan, 14 March 2022. The presentation of the Autumn/Winter 2022 collections runs from 14 to 19 March. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/EFE)

Tokyo DisneySea at Urayasu, Chiba prefecture, is holding Christmas festivities each night until December 25, 2012. At neighboring Tokyo Disneyland, the Christmas Fantasy parade is held twice daily at the theme park. (Photo by Disneyland)

Models present creations of fashion brand motonari ono during Tokyo Fantashion at a shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, August 16, 2015. Tokyo Fantashion is a one-day showcase event of up-and-coming fashion trends, organised by Tokyo Creators, a group of 20 new brands. (Photo by Yuya Shino/Reuters)

A model shows creations of ACUOD by CHANU during Amazon Fashion Week TOKYO in Tokyo, Japan, March 21, 2019. (Photo by Kim Kyung-hoon/Reuters)