In the desert sands of Saudi Arabia's deep northwest, thousands of workers are building a futuristic city that the kingdom says will be like no other.

Out of the ancient sands will emerge a high-tech urban center called The Line: zero-carbon with flying drones for taxis, holographs for teachers and even a man-made moon.

The smart city is housed within Neom, a $500-billion business zone aimed at diversifying the economy of the world's top oil exporter and the brainchild of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Neom is financed, in part, by the nation's sovereign wealth fund, and is due to be completed by 2025.