Blog Post # 2 - Thoughts from Time to Know Palestine Author

"Between Borders and Horizons"

They say travel opens the mind, but what if your world is a single city? My name is Dina. For most of my life, I dreamed of exploring distant places and learning new languages, while the borders around me stayed closed. Gaza, where I was born and raised, is the only piece of my homeland I’ve ever seen. That longing became the heart of my book, Time to Know Palestine.

When I decided to write my book, it became a journey both beautiful and bittersweet. I was writing about places I had never visited, villages and cities I longed to see. I spent months interviewing people who lived there, listening to their stories as they painted each place for me, sharing photographs and videos full of color and life. Through their memories, I wandered streets and landscapes my feet had never touched, discovering a Palestine that lived in the hearts of its people.

Later, when I found myself abroad, I could finally explore, walk freely, and meet people from different nations and cultures. I began to realize how beautiful it is to simply see the world. I still remember the first time I stood on a mountain, above the clouds, feeling as if I were on top of the world, standing on the edge of a dream.

Yet, as I experience all these new wonders, one thought always follows me:

I wish I could experience them in my own homeland.

Palestine has everything: mountains and valleys, rivers and seas, deserts and plains, a beauty that holds every color of the earth. But instead of exploring it there, I find pieces of it elsewhere.

No place is ever like home. Wherever I go, I find myself searching for something familiar: a scent, a view, a feeling that reminds me of it. And through every journey, I carry it with me. Not just as a memory, but as a heartbeat.

One of my biggest dreams is to see as much of this beautiful world as I can. To keep learning, discovering, and connecting with people everywhere. Because traveling, to me, isn’t just about places; it’s about freedom, stories, and finding pieces of myself wherever I go.