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)

Australia-based photographer Birte Person wasn't quite as afraid. With the safety of distance, she was brave enough to capture these stunning shots of the rare animals during feeding time at the Singapore Zoo.

U.S. President Barack Obama laughs as he reads the storybook “Where the Wild Things Are” during the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House in Washington April 6, 2015. Thousands of children gathered at the White House for the annual Easter Egg Roll. This year's event features live music, cooking stations, storytelling, and of course, some Easter egg roll. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Members of the Black Hebrews community celebrate the Shavuot harvest festival on June, 19, 2011 in Dimona, Israel. The community, who call themselves the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem, moved to Israel in 1969 from the United States and have since maintained a vibrant culture which includes a communal lifestyle and a vegan diet. They are not recognized as Jews by Israel despite their belief in the Torah, but were granted permanent resident status in 2003. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Filipino barefoot Catholics carry a replica of the Black Nazarene during a procession ahead of the Black Nazarene feast day celebrations in Manila, Philippines, 07 January 2016. The procession of the Black Nazarene is expected to draw millions of barefooted Catholic devotees to Manila on 09 January, according to a Manila police official. (Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA)

Madison Sager (L), Jocelyn Sager and Susan Ihry (C) make their way through the West Acres Mall JCPenney store after 3 a.m. on November 25, 2011 in Fargo, North Dakota. The trio began shopping at 10 p.m. the night before at Walmart. (Photo by Chris Franz/Getty Images)

A few Catholic devotees manage to get closer to either kiss or rub with towels the cross of the image of the Black Nazarene as they take part in a raucous procession to celebrate its feast day in Manila, Philippines, Saturday, January 9, 2016. As in the past, the annual procession attracts thousands of devotees with scores being injured and saw the deployment of hundreds of police and soldiers. (Photo by Bullit Marquez/AP Photo)