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)

A man wearing a beard imprinted facemask as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus walks along a street in New Delhi on June 19, 2020. India has recorded more than 380,000 cases of COVID-19, the fourth-highest in the world, with over 12,500 deaths, health ministry data show. (Photo by Jewel Samad/AFP Photo)

Young demonstrators (many shirtless) shout and cheer as they overturn a truck trailer in the Reflecting Pool on the Mall facing the Washington Monument during the “Honor America Day Smoke-In” thrown by marijuana activists to protest the official “Honor America Day” ceremonies being held at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC, July 4, 1970. (Photo by David Fenton/Getty Images)

Devotees wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), carry a chariot of Pachali Bhairab amid the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kathmandu, Nepal on October 21, 2020. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A reveller falls over into the road in Newcastle, Britain, July 4, 2020 on the day pubs and restaurants were finally allowed to reopen. (Photo by North News and Pictures)

Women wearing masks and shields take a selfie in front of a praying altar during Lunar New Year in Chinatown in Manila, Philippines, February 12, 2021. (Photo by Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)

Shortlist, open competition, lifestyle. Healing Vibes – the hot springs of Bagno Vignoni in Italy flow out at a temperature of about 49°C. They were appreciated by the Romans for their healing powers, and have been used as therapeutic treatments since the 12th century, under Emperor Federico II. (Photo by Stefano Butturini/Sony World Photography Awards)

A demonstrator uses a slingshot during a protest against Chile's government in Santiago, Chile, November 14, 2019. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)