Katie Handler, veterinary technician with the New England Wildlife Center, reaches to try to capture an oil-covered goose along the Muddy River, Monday, December 9, 2024, in Brookline, Mass., as wildlife rescuers tended to dozens of birds that were soaked in oil after an apparent spill. (Photo by Charles Krupa/AP Photo)

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)

Robot pianist Teo Tronico performs at the World Robot Conference (WRC) 2017 at Etrong International Exhibition & Convention Center on August 22, 2017 in Beijing, China. The World Robot Conference 2017 is held from August 23 to 27 in Beijing. (Photo by Liu Guanguan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

Sara Moni, dressed as the World of Warcraft's Sinestra, poses for photographers on day three of the Comic-Con International held at the San Diego Convention Center Saturday July 23, 2016 in San Diego. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Invision/AP Photo)

South Korea's Black Eagles aerobatics team performs an aerial display forming a Ying and Yang logo during the Singapore Airshow at Changi exhibition center in Singapore on February 16, 2016. (Photo by Roslan Rahman/AFP Photo)

Pilot Akmal Bin Abdul Kahar watches South Korea's Black Eagles aerobatics team perform a manoeuvre during an aerial display at the Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Center February 18, 2016. (Photo by Edgar Su/Reuters)

Jordanian soldiers pose after the opening ceremony of eighth annual Warrior Competition at the King Abdullah Special Operations Training Center (KASOTC) in Amman, Jordan, May 2, 2016. Twenty Seven Teams from Eleven countries are participating in a competition to test their military skills. (Photo by Muhammad Hamed/Reuters)

An attendee tries Acton's RocketSkates at the 2015 International CES at the Sands Expo and Convention Center on January 6, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The motorized skates that you strap to your shoes are powered by Lithium Ion batteries and can go up to 12 mph. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)