Building sandcastles on the beach is not just a children's activity. The small village of Pêra in Portugal's Algarve has proved this since 2003 when it began hosting FIESA - The International Sand Sculpture Festival. With a total of 250,000 visitors to date, this four-month exhibition can claim to be responsible for introducing a new form of art that each year gains more enthusiasts not just in Portugal, but also all over the world.

Miniature Greek cities, the legends of the gods, and biblical episodes such as Noah's ark combine with unicorns, centaurs, vampires and wolf-men and can be visited daily, between 10 am and midnight, until the 20th of September. This is the work of 33 international professional artists that got together at the beginning of April to build a sand city in a 15,000 square metre area with hundreds of sculptures of immense dimensions, under the theme of 'Mythologies'. The sculptures represent scenes from Aztec, Greek, Roman, Nordic, Celtic, Egyptian and Indian mythologies, along with episodes from the Old and New Testaments, and even a futuristic myth - extra-terrestrial life forms.

According to ProSandArt, who organise FIESA along with other sand cultural events and activities, sand sculpture festivals are "large outdoor exhibitions built with a specific theme within a set period of time, which create a huge impact - impressing and attracting the attention of its visitors by their appearance and size". By doing so, explains Alper Alagöz, sculptor, mentor of FIESA and founder of ProSandArt, "they promote and establish sand sculptures as a recognised international and professional art form".

Alagöz thinks that the feedback from FIESA's previous events has been extremely positive, judging by the thousands of compliments paid in the festival's guest-books. FIESA is the only festival of its kind in the Iberian Peninsula and, for its dimensions and quantity of sand used, has become the largest exhibition of sand sculptures in the world.

The first year's motto, "Dreamland", was magical, with a huge, perfectly sculpted dragon, an elephant, a Buddha and many other figures. According to Alagöz and his colleagues at the ProSandArt organisation, it was this very first success that kept them going for the following events and provided them with the opportunity to invite more artists to participate. "For the first year there were only a few of us", he says.

FIESA 2004, was held under the theme of "Enchanting Stories"; the universe of popular, childhood stories from around the world were recreated in sand. All of the sculptures evoked tales such as those of Pinocchio, Aladdin, Alice in the Wonderland and The Arabian Nights, among others. FIESA 2005, "Lost Worlds", showed sculptures in which ancient civilizations such as the Maya, Inca, Mesopotamia and Egypt were represented.

The exhibitions are an impressive sight, no matter what time of day. In the day the sculptures can be admired in all their detail. Night brings an entirely different atmosphere to the sculptures, which are illuminated by torches, coloured lights and other special effects, together with laser shows, fireworks, dance and other performances.

This year there will also be video projections demonstrating the building of FIESA 2006 and recollecting previous years' exhibitions, along with puppet shows, clowns and musical concerts. The festival will have an educational element with free workshops everyday from 10am to 12.30pm and 3.30pm to 9 pm. Under the direction of instructors, children and adults can make their own sculptures and learn the basics techniques of this nascent art form.

According to Alagöz, sand sculptures are made with just sand and water and in previous years their near perfect conditions were noted despite exposure to the open air for four months. Questioned about the secret of this weather resistant city Alagöz says that sculptures are made with a "special sand, and that's why the festival is held in Pêra".

"The sand on beaches", he says, "is usually composed of circular grains, which are inappropriate for making sand sculptures". The ideal sand "has grains that look like dice of different sizes but fit together easily", by compressing this soft sand into several layers and roughly shaping the moisturised sand, a hardened block is obtained. Various moulds are used and the sand is shaped into blocks until it reaches the size and height required for sculpture. This year, more then 800 trucks full of sand had to wind their way through the small roads of Pêra to unload the 35,000 tonnes required for building the sand-sculpted city.

After the 20th of September the sand sculptures will be left to deteriorate. While many might lament their inevitable end, Alagöz insists that this is what sand sculpture is all about. "It's an unusual art that produces fragile and temporary pieces", he says. It is the most significant difference between an ordinary sculpture and a sand sculpture; the destruction process makes it an ephemeral art. Alagöz thinks that art is "a way of expressing oneself, and it cannot be measured in terms of durability or perpetuity". Nevertheless, "they will live and last eternally as an unforgettable and unique memory for the ones who have seen them".

FIESA - The International Sand Sculpture Festival is on display until the 20th September 2006 in the village of Pêra, Portugal. For more information visit the festival's website at http://www.fiesa2006.com/