Germany's Laura Siegemund celebrates with France's Edouard Roger-Vasselin after winning the mixed doubles final against Britain's Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk of the U.S. at the French Open in Paris on June 6, 2024. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

Switzerland's Zoe Verge-Depre, right, sets up a shot for Esmee Boebner in a beach volleyball match against Canada at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (Photo by Robert F. Bukat/AP Photoy)

An Asian elephant swims in a pool with transparent sides at Fuji Safari Park in Susono city of Shizuoka Prefecture on August 8, 2024. Paddling with chunky legs and using their trunks as a snorkel, the elephants at Fuji Safari Park in Japan are taking a dip in their summer swimming pool – with each graceful movement visible thanks to a special see-through tank. (Photo by Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP Photo)

People visit the Yellow Sea forest park as the leaves of Dawn Redwoods turn red and yellow in winter in Yancheng, eastern China's Jiangsu province on December 4, 2025. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

Argentina's forward #22 Lautaro Martinez shoots to score during the 2026 FIFA World Cup South American qualifiers football match between Argentina and Peru at the La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires on November 19, 2024. (Photo by Juan Mabromata/AFP Photo)

Dancers wearing new bikinis perform in front of passers-by and a line of photographers during a promotional flash mob event on a square outside Shinjuku station in Tokyo on July 18, 2016. The event was organized by the Japan Swimsuit Association to promote new swimwear. (Photo by Toru Yamanaka/AFP Photo)

A policeman comforts a man next to the body of Maria Duron, a pregnant fruit vendor caught in the crossfire after gunmen opened fire on a vehicle, killing a sixteen year-old student, her police bodyguard and three other people who were on the street in the city of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on April 15, 2013. (Photo by Fernando Antonio/Associated Press)

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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)