SANDland Antalya, or the Sand Sculpture Museum as it is known locally, is the only sand sculpture display open year-round. Because of the open-air format, the sculptures and visitors are exposed to the elements. As Antalya boasts over 300 days of sunshine a year, you likely won’t have to visit in the rain. This year (2020) will be the 15th year for this exhibit which invites sculptors from all over the world come to create the many sculptures over a period of three weeks. They use a sand/clay mixture from riverbeds along with a water solution coating sprayed over the sculptures to help protect them and ensure they hold up through the year.
Each year brings a new theme for the artists to use as their inspiration. Some of the sculptures are quite large and in total over 10,000 tons of sand is used. In the evening, the displays are lit up with LED lighting that accompanies the theme music looping throughout the day. The display area isn’t expansive so you could easily visit and see everything within an hour. To round out your visit, the attraction affords visitors an onsite café and a children’s workshop, complete with kinetic sand to create a sculpture.
SANDland Antalya isn’t the most inexpensive activity, but if you are already enjoying the beautiful Lara beach next door, it could be an enjoyable break from the sea. Even with the river sand and protective coating, the sculptures do start to crumble a bit over time. Overall, they are still in decent shape nearly 8 months later, but the best possible time to visit SANDland would be early summer right after the new displays have been created.
Güzeloba Mah.
Lara Cad. Lara Birlik Halk Plajı
Muratpaşa/Antalya
Tel: 0 242 349 1155
Entrance Fee: Adult 30 TL (~5 Euro); Child 10 TL (~1.75 Euro) (January 2020)
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[…] Sandland/Antalya Sand Sculpture Museum – Take your school-age kids to a place full of giant sand sculptures of every kind and teach them to appreciate art and man’s creative abilities. Located in Güzeloba Mahallesi on the east side of town, the Sand Sculpture Museum is a fascinating way to spend an hour or two. […]