Sand Filling Skills
Filling sand bottles is one of the oldest handicrafts in Jordan. The sand is gathered from different areas of Jordan sifted and purified from impurities, then it is dyed with certain dyes, sometimes natural like white, yellow and brick. The sand is mixed well with the pigments and is left in the sun to be dry.
Different shapes and sizes of bottles are used for the sand which is poured into the bottle with a funnel. The artisans fill the bottle with sand in layers using different colors. Then they use a small metal wire to move the sand around to produce the appearance of images on the face of the bottle. For example, a camel may be drawn against the backdrop of a sunset and mountains. Other scenes like flowers, natural landscape or names will be drawn in the sand filled bottles. After the bottle is filled with the sand, the sand at the opening has to be struck strongly by a tool called “Middak” to get rid of air inside. Then glue will be added to fix the sand.