Italian grandmother puts her best foot forward

She first spent a few days making inroads into the ancient city of Kashgar in the autonomous region, experiencing the local folk customs and history, ranging from a century-old teahouse where she engaged with residents to learn about tea culture to a naan bread shop where she tried her hand at making the traditional staple food.

During her stay, she documented the history and modernity of the ancient city through the lens of a camera, which she will share with the world, she says.

With a simple backpack and two trekking poles, Cammarota has covered more than 20,000 kilometers from Italy across Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkiye, Georgia, Iran, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan.

"I have only my backpack of about 20 kilos and a lot of desire to make it," Cammarota writes on her website.

The backpack carries her summer and winter clothing and kits, including a portable compass, a small knife and a bottle of pepper spray for protection against animal attacks.

"If I need anything else, I buy it as I go," she notes.

She prefers to wander, stopping when something catches her eye and embracing the unexpected sights along the way, Cammarota says.

"Why am I doing it? Hiking has always been my passion but this journey is meant to be a message of courage and strength for everyone," she adds.

She has long been an adventurous and culturally driven traveler. Three decades ago, she started to hike to Nepal, Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region, and Israel.