ISTANBUL — Santralistanbul. The name itself is exotic, like some sort of medieval traveler’s fantasyland, magical and remote, attainable only by the stout of heart — and certainly not on the guided tour.

OK, it’s a power plant. Or it used to be. Now it’s what one guidebook calls “an astounding new art space.” Turkey, we learn, has transformed what was the electric power nerve center for Istanbul from 1911 to 1983 into a mega-size artistic play space, giving power-plant scope and scale for big ideas in visual arts and installations.