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)

Raka Soko, a traditional healer and Poro society member is deep in prayer while holding a broom and a bottle filled with spiritual wine that is purified to show gratitude to the gods before a ceremony in Waterloo on November 26, 2018. Standing across the field from him another member, Amos Nicol, holds a statue of the spiritual god Sama Yorbu which is used to communicate directly to other gods for permission to perform. (Photo by Lynn Rossi/AFP Photo)

Thai officials inspect counterfeit watches before destroying them at Khlongluang Transportation Station in Pathumtani province, on the outskirts of Bangkok April 9, 2015. The counterfeit goods, which included piles of CDs, DVDs, handbags, clothes, brand name shoes, cell phones, caps, glasses, computers, cosmetics and watches are worth over 3.7 billion Thai baht ($ 115,790,901), according to local authorities. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)

A security man keeps guard during Malawi's President elect Arthur Peter Mutharika swearing in ceremony at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre on May 28, 2019, after a contentious election marred by allegations of fraud and vote-rigging. The Malawi Electoral Commission announced on Monday that Mutharika, who heads the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), had narrowly won last week's vote after an injunction barring the release of the results was lifted. (Photo by Amos Gumulira/AFP Photo)

Demonstrators take part in a mass “face-sitting protest” outside the Houses of Parliament in central London on December 12, 2014, as they protest against changes to p*rnography regulations. An amendment to the 2003 Communities Act applies the same strict rules to p*rn bought online as those included in the guidelines set out by the British Board of Film Censors for DVDs. The new laws ban films that feature s*x acts, such as spanking, caning, strangulation, aggressive whipping, humiliation, and face-sitting. Ministers say the rules have been brought in to protect s*x workers. But campaigners say it is an attempt to censor and control the internet. Paid-for videos shot overseas and viewed online in the UK are not affected by the new rules, which were introduced on December 2, 2014. (Photo by Leon Neal/AFP Photo)

Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year Sandra Bullock gets kisses from Vice President John Blickstead (L) and President of Hasty Pudding Theatricals Clare Putnam (C) in Harvard Square February 12, 2004 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo By Douglas McFadd/Getty Images)

The new MacBook Pro is shown during the keynote address at the Apple 2012 World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) at Moscone West on June 11, 2012 in San Francisco, California. This is Apple’s latest flagship laptop featuring an updated processor and a super high resolution screen that features 5.1 million pixels – 3 million more than a typical high-definition television.