Brilliant Sand Art in Jordan

Bottled Sand art in Jordan

He puts a little sand of beige color, which acts as a background, in a small bottle and then slowly adds another colored sand. His skilled fingers are at work! He adds every new color with a thin stick or a funnel. Meticulously he ‘paints’ the parts of that color in the picture, only occasionally glancing at it. I am watching a Jordanian sand artist creating magical sand art in bottles. The sand art in Jordan is one of the very popular and ancient art form in Jordan.

Click here to book your tour of Wadi Rum and Petra which includes a stay in a camp.

Skilled Jordanian Artisan

While the silent fingers are doing their magic, he asks me where I come from and such. Polite and soft spoken as he is, he knows how to engage a visitor. As the conversation continues, I too ask him a few questions starting with his name. He is 28 years old Ayman Amarat Ali from Wadi Mousa village in Petra. He has graduated in archeology and wants to do something in the same field. He has acquired the skills of bottled sand art from his father who was a skilled Jordanian artisan. Ayman has been practicing this art with sand since last 8 years.

Ali continues till the image is ready and then fills up the bottle with the background colored sand before closing it tightly with a cork. I gaze at the bottle. A camel and a few trees appear in a landscape. I can’t believe my eyes. How is it possible to make a perfect picture even from a photo in a narrow-necked bottle? I smile. Another bottle has a face on it. These bottles have the ability to convey interesting stories.

This time it was his turn to smile. Says, there is no limit on what you can draw once you learn how to do this ‘sand painting’. Funnels replace brushes, bottle replaces the canvas and different colored sands take the place of paint!

History of Sand Art in Jordan

The sand art history is very interesting. The colors are from the multicolored sand rocks that is found everywhere in Petra, the world wonder city and which makes the city so unique! And that is where it all started by Bedouins during the early 20th century.

The first man who took the craft of Jordanian sand art to today’s stature is believed to be Khalifa Krishna. Born in 1885, Khalifa Krishna used to work as a painter with the armed forces in the region between the Aqaba and Al Qoura in the early 20^th century. The British soldiers would leave empty bottles behind and those bottles became canvas for Khalifa’s sand paintings. He began to create simple patterns using multi-colored layers of sands inspired by the sandstone cliffs of his homeland Petra. This appealing craft became the source of inspiration for the artistically inclined Jordanian artisans.

This distinct Jordanian aesthetic in art and architecture arose as part of a Islamic art tradition and thrived with time.

You may also want to read about Usta Art in Jaipur, Rajasthan

Bottled sand art in Jordan or sand painting

The glass sand art bottles reflect the essence of craft, art and life of Petra.

Seeped from history, this bottled sand art has become one of the most admired activity of Jordan. Creative designs, mostly inspired by local scenes and camels, mountains and valleys, grew in popularity during 1940s. The decorated sand bottles found from that period of time tell us about the recognition of sand art history.

Ayman says, the artists of earlier time also developed the sand art skill to determine what can be drawn using two things; colored sand which they had in abundance and recycled bottles and jars. It started from basic layers to almost anything; new colors and new tools were introduced to the artist. The products revive the folk culture art mixed with modern designs. There are still some artisans who prefer to use only natural colors of sand which mostly are different hues of brown.

Also read about Golden Grass Handicraft in Jajpur, Odisha

The bottled art can be seen everywhere in Jordan & has now traversed to many other countries but what I saw in Petra is definitely original and above all.

Learners learn the art in a fun way. Places where the colored sand isn’t available, the sand is mixed with powder paint or food color to create different hues. The sand thus mixed, is poured into different shaped bottles and jars in order to form designs and colorful layers. One can find sand art bottles of all sizes… from palm sized quarter to one liter sized. They are mostly liquor bottles.

While it takes around 10 – 15 minutes to create a pattern in sand art in smaller bottles, the larger sized can take up to 18 hours.

You don’t need to visit Wadi Rum to be transported to the enchanting world. You can get the essence of the Jordanian desert right on the streets of Petra … in a bottle! 😀

Also read about Meissen Porcelain, the White Gold of Dresden

The bottled sand art can be seen everywhere in Jordan & has now traversed to many other countries but what I saw in Petra is definitely original and above all.

Learners learn the art in a fun way. Places where the colored sand isn’t available, the sand is mixed with powder paint or food color to create different hues. The sand thus mixed is poured into different shaped bottles and jars in order to form designs and colorful layers.

Sand art is considered a good souvenir and is available in many sizes.

You don’t need to visit Wadi Rum to be transported to the enchanting world. You can get the essence of the Jordanian desert right on the streets of Petra … in a bottle! 😀

Where to stay in Petra

There are many hotels in Petra and around Petra which is called Wadi Musa region. You can select accommodation as per your budget and convenience. We had stayed at Mövenpick Petra which is a decent hotel with all facilities. It is also located just a Km away from the Petra entrance.

Book your hotel in Wadi Musa or Petra, as per your budget and convenience.

Decide on Day Trip or Multi Day trip

There are many tours and trips across Jordan. Depending on your vacation length and number of days available with you, you can decide on the cities to be covered and the tour length. We had a week long trip and could cover only Amman, Jerash, Aqaba, Petra, Wadi Rum, Dead Sea but it was very hectic. I wish we had a few more days with us to enjoy the places.

Hot Tip: Make sure you visit Petra at night also. it’s altogether a different feel. 😀

Here’s the most reliable tour operator for all your requirements.
Book as per your budget and convenience.

FAQ on Sand Bottle Art in Jordan

Photograph Copyright

All photographs used in this article belong to the owners of this website www.lemonicks.com unless otherwise specified. Copying or using them without explicit permission is prohibited and will amount to copyright infringement.

If you want to travel places with us, we suggest you to join us on our Facebook travel page.

P.S.- This article, Brilliant Sand Art in Jordan belongs to Le Monde, the Poetic Travels, one of the top Indian Travel Blogs, published by the traveling couple bloggers, Nisha & Vasudevan. Reproduction without explicit permission is prohibited. If you are viewing this on another website other than the RSS feed reader or www.lemonicks.com itself, then that website is guilty of stealing our content. Kindly do us a favour by letting us know via Contact Us. Thank you.