This master thesis comprizes of a comparative study between two neighborhoods in two different cities: Nezu-Tokyo and Ortakoy-Istanbul. Although two cities that have been chosen seem incomparable in many respects, the study scale &ndash / neighborhoodsprovide a deeper apprehension to understand the differences or similarities that the two cultures and their architecture share. In the master thesis, the main factors that form, constitute, and limit the neighborhoods, with the help of the photographical medium, will be analyzed. Japanese and Turkish Culture, despite the fact that they belong to different geographies, share a certain closeness and intimacy. In the two cultures, it is possible to observe that, there exists (at least within certain cultural areas) an attempt to protect internal harmonies against the effects of globalizarion. After experiencing the similar characteristics of urban space in these two neighborhoods, this study has focused on the creation of space, within the help of atmoshere and boundary concepts, within a theoretical frame drawn by an aesthetical approach. Although the cities that were chosen are very large in scale, the neighborhoods which were chosen still carry a local character, where citizens spend most of their time and closely affect their surroundings. It could also be claimed that, positioned between v architectural and urban scale, neighborhoods constitute the different faces of a city. In a neighborhood that posseses both traditional characters and effects of urbanization at the same time, we can observe the social habits and individual diversities, rules of a city planning and flux of different ingredients that form the metropolitan and daily life, and neighbor relations. In this regard, my intention, with the close-scope study of two neighborhoods, is to make a research to indicate the very distinct ways to create space and the ways in which everyday life is conveyed, within the context of two different cultures.

What makes Istanbul special and unique, is not its beauty, but the memories, the good and the bad of people who once lived there and were forced to leave for different reasons. This is something that people could realize as soon as they visit Istanbul and talk to the remaining minority populations who have faced bigotry, prejudice and persecution. Those have kept alive the real meaning of this metropolis. It is the multicultural and cosmopolitan character and especially the religious pluralism and diversity which still manages somehow to survive and characterizes the city and life in it, making it unique and offering a perfect symbolism since Turkey and especially Istanbul has become a significant mediator between the West and the East. Even though the figures have been dramatically changed and decreased, the city has retained some of its multicultural character, and still hosts some of the most important religious institutions. This is the main theme of this thesis, the history, the problems and the panorama of the life in the multicultural Istanbul. It is an overall view on different areas where population from different religious and cultural backgrounds co-existed for years and have a great historic meaning. The mahalles that will be examined in this study are those of Fener, Balat, and Ortakoy from the European side and Kuzguncuk from the Asian one. This thesis will try to highlight the main events which led to the alienation and the shrinkage of the religious populations in Istanbul, and will present a report on the current situation and projects which promote the religious diversity and aim to restore, partly, the glory of the multicultural past. Why nationalism prevailed and how did its predominance affect the multicultural Istanbul? What is the current situation in the neighborhoods which used to or still host populations from different religious backgrounds, and how do the recent cultural initiatives aim to bridge the gap that hatred and policies created?