Makkah (IINA) – The Holy Kaaba was adorned with a new Kiswa (cover) on Sunday, as an annual tradition carried out on Dhul Hijah 9 after Fajr (dawn) prayer. The new black cloth was placed on top of the Kaaba, at the center of the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the black cloth, which is made from precious metals and pure silk, costs SR22 million and takes eight full months and goes through different stages before being ready for use. This includes dyeing, weaving, designing, printing, embroidering, undergoing quality control at laboratory, assembling and delivering the Kiswa to the Sadin, the senior keeper of the Kaaba’s key.
Officials from the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques took off the old Kiswa and installed the new one, which is made of pure silk and gold threads. It costs SR22 million and is considered one of the most exquisite works of Islamic art.
The Kiswa is 14 meters (42 feet) high, to match the height of the Kaaba, and 47 meters (141 feet) wide, enough to cover the four sides of the Kaaba, which are not identical in dimension. Its upper half is decorated with a 95-centimeter (three-foot) wide strip featuring verses from the Holy Qur’an, inscribed in gold plated silver thread, which weigh 120 kilograms (264 pounds). The Kiswa is made of five pieces. The fifth piece is the curtain of its door. Nearly 650 kilograms (1,400 pounds) of natural silk was required to make the Kiswa. The silk is imported, but the Kiswa was designed and tailored by Saudi employees at the Kiswa Factory of the Holy Kaaba in Makkah.
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