The Sand Sculpture Festival in Antalya
In the realm of the sandman
The Turkish holiday paradise of Antalya offers more than just beautiful beaches, sunsets, and good food. Here, you’ll also encounter an art form that is absolutely unique. At the open-air museum “Kum Heykel Müzesi” on Lara Beach, you can marvel at more than 150 gigantic sand sculptures all year round.
Surprisingly weather-resistant
Every April, the best international sand artists venture out to Antalya to create giant sculptures: mythological creatures, historical figures, and fantastic buildings. These structures require 10,000 tonnes of sand – which amounts to approximately 500 lorry loads. Both the level of detail and the size of the creations are staggering. The artists are constantly at work – if you’re lucky, you might be able to peek over their shoulder. All they use is sand, water, and pressure for their creations, which take up to two weeks to complete. The mixture is so stable that even wind and rain barely make a dent in the sculptures.
Trusting in sand
Even the early Egyptians built models of pyramids as sand sculptures. These served to calculate angles and edges. Today, many artists primarily present their works in holiday towns by the sea. This is how sand sculpture festivals emerged around the world. That said, Kum Heykel Müzesi on Lara Beach, covering an area of 10,000 square metres, is one-of-a-kind. Every year, a new motto is specified for “newcomers”, but heroes, gods, and warriors almost always make their way into the exhibition. The site also features classics such as the Eiffel Tower, a Pharaoh, Thor, and “The Lion King”.
A dazzling evening show
Especially children, whose sandcastle dreams come to life in XXXL here, will enjoy a visit: They can take part in a workshop with kinetic sand, where they learn tricks on durability and construction first-hand. Our tip: Explore the sandy expanse in the evening, when the temperatures have dropped a little. Around this time, a very colourful LED light show – with a new design every year – and music transform the exhibition into a sparkling and radiant fairytale kingdom.
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