About Me

I am a writer, editor, translator, traveller, sister, daughter… Born to Turkish-Jewish parents, I made Tel Aviv home for most of the last decade. Before moving to Israel, I lived in Istanbul, San Diego, Jerusalem, Providence, and Boston… Since two years, I’m more nomad than settled, learning to embrace the world as my true home.

I worked for five years at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute as the associate editor of the Journal of Levantine Studies and coordinated the Israeli Network of the Anna Lindh Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue. The desire to write had always lurked on the edges of my brain, but I never seemed to find the time, energy, or the will to make my ideas come to life.  So, in a bout of insanity and an insatiable urge for exploration,  I quit my job, rented my apartment and embarked on an open-ended journey.

Writing has the power to take us to a journey of self-reflection, learning, and awareness.I started Pack the Story not only to share my experiences but also delve deeper into them.

I also write short stories, essays, poems, and recently began working on my first novel! You can browse through some of my other writings here.  I hope you enjoy this space and find some inspiration. And don’t forget to leave footprints in the form of comments 🙂

My Published Work

non-fiction

Syrian Refugees in Turkey Between two Elections,” Times of Israel, September 21, 2015.

Istanbul’s Urban Regeneration: Childhood Memories and a Changing Megacity,” InPerspective.media, July 2015.

Musing Cities: From Sefarad to Jerusalem via Istanbul,”Quaderns de la Mediterrania 17 (2012)

Weekend in Hebron with Turks,”JUF News, September 24, 2007

N. Alyon and M. Nahmiyaz, “Aboard the Mavi Marmara: An Analysis of Turkish Israeli Relations,” June 28, 2010, http://zeek.forward.com/articles/116822/

N. Alyon and M. Nahmiyaz, “Brought together by Bees,” Haaretz

fiction and poetry 

“Deliberations on Hebrew Phonology,” Poetica Magazine, (Fall, 2015)

Soldiers on Crystal Horses,” JewishFiction.net (2015)

The ExchangePoetica Magazine  (2014)