Watch: Kiswa, the cover of the Kaaba, changed in intricate annual ritual
A specialized team oversaw the entire process of replacing the Kiswa
Dubai: The cover of the Kaaba has been changed in an intricate annual ritual. The grand ceremony took place on Wednesday, coinciding with the first day of the month of Muharram, 1445 Hijri in the Islamic calendar.
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that the process involved 130 technicians and manufacturers and followed a ten-step elaborate procedure.
The Kiswa, as the fabric covering the Kaaba is called in Arabic, is made from raw silk, with 120 kilograms of gold wires and 100 kilograms of silver wires woven into it. The raw materials underwent meticulous processing in an assembly line that utilized the world's largest sewing machine.
The creation of the Kiswa
Skilled craftsmen hand-embroidered sections of the black-dyed silk cloth with verses from the Quran using gold wires. A specialized team oversaw the entire process of replacing the Kiswa, which consists of 56 gold-embroidered pieces. Each piece, requiring intricate handiwork, took between 60 to 120 days to complete.
The production of the 56 pieces of hand-embroidered Kiswa involved over 100 skilled craftspeople. Each piece went through a meticulous embroidery process that ensured the highest quality standards. The phases of production encompassed various steps, including desalination, dyeing, weaving, printing Quranic verses, and manual embroidery. Quranic verses and Islamic inscriptions were intricately embroidered with gold-plated silver wire threads during the seventh phase.
The first phase involves desalination, where the silk fabric of the Kiswa is washed with carefully controlled temperature water to eliminate impurities. Next comes the dyeing process, where the outer side of the Kiswa is dyed black and the inner side, along with the Prophet's Chamber, is dyed green. To ensure its quality, random samples are taken from the cloth before and after dyeing.
Automated weaving follows, with over 9,900 threads per meter of silk woven using cutting-edge technology. The printing phase involves inscribing Quranic verses on the Kaaba belt. Manual embroidery, carried out by skilled craftsmen, is then performed, with gold-plated silver wire threads used to delicately embroider the Kiswa.
In the seventh phase, Quranic verses and Islamic inscriptions are intricately embroidered using the same gold-plated silver wire threads. A comprehensive quality check is conducted in the eighth phase to guarantee the highest standards are met. The ninth phase sees the assembly of the 56 pieces of the Kiswa, painstakingly crafted by over 100 skilled artisans. Finally, in the tenth and final phase, the old Kiswa is reverently replaced with the newly created one.