Learn Turkish: Güç ve zaman istiyor. - It takes strength and time.

Yes, the root verb istemek usually means "to want". But in Turkish, when a task or situation requires something abstract—like time, effort, or strength—you use istiyor (literally "it wants"). It's the most natural way to say "it takes" or "it requires" in this context.

I learned the verb stem for "want" is iste-. Why is it spelled istiyor and not isteyor?

When you add the present continuous suffix -yor to a verb stem that ends in an -e or -a, that final vowel "narrows" to make it easier to say. Here, the -e in iste- changes to an -i, giving us istiyor.

Where is the word for "it" in this sentence?

In Turkish, subject pronouns like o ("he/she/it") are often dropped because the verb itself tells you who is doing the action. The verb istiyor has no personal ending attached to it, which automatically makes it third-person singular. Since we are talking about a situation or a task, "it" is the perfect translation.