The Silent Steampunk Charm of SantralIstanbul

The Silahtaraga Power Station illuminates no more. It stands there, imposing, dark.

The station used to give light to the city back when light was new. The first of its kind in the Ottoman Empire, Silahtaraga lit up its cityscape– the neighborhood of Eyup, the Sultan’s palaces, the wealthy pockets of the city that could afford the warmth of electricity.

Now, the machines are quiet.

I am drawn to the old behemoths, the rundown bits of glory– my love of Haydarpasa Train Station is a testament to that. An unused power station in Istanbul– one that is actually legally open to the public– was irresistible to me. Old machinery in echoing dusty rooms? I’m there.

Silahtaraga Power Station has been redubbed SantralIstanbul, and it maintains a ghostly, post-apocalyptic charm. The building sits on the Bilgi University campus, just a short free shuttle ride away from Taksim Square. It’s next to a cafe, it contains within it an energy museum… and yet, while wandering between the massive metal machinery and up the rickety scaffolding stairs, it’s easy to imagine that this is a secret place. There is an air of the forbidden that hangs around SantralIstanbul. The gray light slanting heavy through the windows, the silenced generators and unmoving turbines, the sci-fi movie control panels above it all– this place certainly has character.

Admission is free, which I didn’t expect and was slightly off-putting; there was no greeter at the entrance, so I felt like a trespasser wandering surreptitiously into the power station. Misgivings were immediately replaced with giddiness– this place is really cool.

The Museum of Energy that’s contained inside the power plant benefits from its surroundings– it’s an intriguing mix of creepy and fun. It’s completely interactive and playing with magnets or electricity in a giant abandoned power plant made me feel like a mad scientist in training.

SantralIstanbul is such a strange, unexpected gem. It’s unlike any other attraction I’ve been to in Istanbul. Once these machines lit up a cosmopolitan dream, now the silent maze of machines can only remember the former glory of the Ottoman Empire. If you listen closely, you can hear the history in the echoing halls.

(To get to SantralIstanbul, take the free Bilgi University shuttle from the Kabatas ferry station. The hours are 10-6 on weekdays, 10-8 on weekends, and admission is free.)