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)

“The white lion is not a distinct subspecies, but a special morph with a genetic condition, leucism, that causes paler colouration akin to that of the white tiger; the condition is similar to melanism, which causes black panthers”. – Wikipedia

Photo: One of two rare white lion cubs from Mogo Zoo on New South Wales South Coast is seen at a photo call at Lavender Green, Luna Park on November 23, 2006 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

A humpback whale is seen at the beginning of whale watching season during a Manly Whale Watching tour on June 8, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. The first day of winter in New South Wales, June 1st, marks the start of the Humback and southern right whales migration from southern regions to the north to warmer waters. Whale watchers should expect tohave plenty to see with the whale population increasing each year. The migration north continues through July and with the whales returning between September and November. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Australian jouster Kimberly Belcher poses for a portrait in her armour on the sidelines of the jousting tournament at the St Ives Medieval Fair in Sydney, one of the largest of its kind in Australia, September 22, 2016. (Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters)

A bodyboarder rides a wave at Mackenzies Bay on May 1, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. A strong east-south-east swell has developed along the NSW coastline with waves between 6ft and 8ft expected to hit the coast for much of the weekend and into next week. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Fireworks light up the skyline over Sydney Harbour during the midnight fireworks session as Sydney Celebrates New Year's Eve with the theme of “Time To Dream” on on January 1, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Martin Garwood prepares to release baby penguins at Sydney Aquarium on January 18, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. Three baby penguins were released into the aquarium and reunited with their parents for the first time since birth. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

Stefan Libon proposes to girlfirend Jess McGarrity in front of a banner message “Marry Me Jess?” on the deck of the Queen Mary 2, at Mrs Macquarie's Chair on Valentines day, February 14, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by James Morgan/Carnival Australia via Getty Images)