Sand City is an open-air museum of sculptures carved entirely from sand, and it is the only one of its kind in Africa or the Middle East. Artists from a dozen countries spent seven months building it.
It sounds like a novelty and it is considerably more impressive in person than it sounds — largely because sand is such an unforgiving medium. It does not permit fine detail without technique, and it collapses if the moisture is misjudged. Standing next to a four-meter figure that holds its shape in the desert wind is a different experience from seeing a photograph of one.
What is there
Forty-two sculptures and seventeen reliefs, divided into two halves that could hardly be less alike.
The historical section
Twenty-two sculptures and six reliefs covering legends, gods, famous military leaders and the love stories that changed history. This is where the technical skill shows most clearly — faces, drapery and detail rendered in a material that resists all three.
Wonderland
Twenty sculptures and eleven reliefs of animated characters that children recognize instantly and pull their parents towards. It is unashamedly fun and it is the reason the site works as a family visit rather than an art appreciation exercise.
On site
There is a shopping square, a coffee shop, a children's playground and the Magic Castle workshop. The whole visit takes around two hours at a comfortable pace.
When to go, and this matters
It is entirely open-air with very little shade. Go in the early morning or in the last two hours before sunset — both the temperature and the light are dramatically better than at midday, and photographs taken under a high sun lose all the surface detail that makes the sculptures worth seeing.
Practical advice
- Wear a hat and comfortable shoes. The paths are sand and compacted gravel.
- Bring water. There is a coffee shop, but you will want your own between exhibits.
- Do not touch the sculptures. They are sand and they mark permanently.
- Allow two hours. Rushing it defeats the purpose.
- It is a good option for a day when the sea is too rough for boat trips.
Our Sand City trip includes hotel pickup and return in a private air-conditioned vehicle.
