Silahtarağa Power Station, Historic power station and museum in Golden Horn, Turkey.
Silahtarağa Power Station is a former electricity generation facility located at the Golden Horn in Istanbul that now serves as a cultural and museum complex. The site preserves original engine rooms, turbine halls, boiler sections, and administrative buildings that once produced electricity for the entire city.
The facility began operations in 1914 as the Ottoman Empire's first urban electrical power source and served as Istanbul's sole electricity provider for decades until the 1950s. After closure, it was transformed in the 2000s into a cultural center named SantralIstanbul, housing museum exhibitions and gallery spaces.
The name comes from its original role as a weapons arsenal before becoming a power station, and the site now hosts contemporary art exhibitions alongside its industrial heritage displays. Visitors encounter spaces where modern creativity coexists with machinery that once powered the city.
The site is best explored during weekdays when fewer visitors are present and the exhibitions feel less crowded. The grounds are spread out, so wearing comfortable shoes is recommended and allowing time to wander through the various buildings and galleries is worthwhile.
Some of the original turbines and boilers remain in working condition and display how power generation functioned a century ago with remarkable clarity. Occasionally these machines are reactivated for special events or demonstrations, giving visitors a direct sense of the industrial force that once powered Istanbul.
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