The General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque installed a new cover, known as 'Kiswa', on the Kaaba on Sunday.
To ensure everything was done to perfection, a team from the King Abdul Aziz Complex for the Holy Kaaba Kiswa, consisting of 159 craftsmen, carried out the replacement at the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. Saudi Press Agency reported.
The team, distributed on the sides and roof of the holy Kaaba according to their specializations, began by dismantling the old Kiswa and installing the new one, then fixing it at the corners and on the roof of the Kaaba.
The Kiswa, which weighs 1,350 kilograms and reaches a height of 14 metres, consists of four separate panels and a door curtain.
Each side of the holy Kaaba was individually raised to the top of the Kaaba in preparation for unfolding it over the ancient cover.
The side was secured at the top by tying it and then lowered once the ropes of the old Kiswa were untied.
The new side was raised and lowered in one continuous motion while the old Kiswa was lowered from below, positioning the new side in place.
This process was repeated for each of the four sides until the Kiswa installation was complete.
Finally, the belt was aligned straight along all four sides and sewn into place.
After securing all sides, the corners were sewn from the top of the Kiswa to the bottom, the SPA reported.
Once this was done, the curtain was put up, which took time and precision. A cut was made in the black fabric to match the size of the curtain, approximately 3.33 metres wide by 6.35 metres long.
Three openings were then made in the black cloth to secure the curtain from below. Finally, the edges were sewn to the black cloth of the Kiswa.
The Kiswa consumes approximately 1,000 kilograms of raw silk, dyed black within the complex, 120 kilograms of gold threads and 100 kilograms of silver threads.
As for the Kiswa belt, it consists of 16 pieces, along with seven pieces below the belt.
