Handing over of 'kiswa' marks beginning of Haj season

Makkah: Marking the beginning of this year's Haj season, Shaikh Saleh Al Hussain, head of the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, will hand over the new covering (Kiswa) of the Holy Kaaba to Abdul Aziz Al Shaibi, Senior Keeper of the Haram Mosque.

The hand over ceremony will be held today, the first day of Dhu Al Hijjah, according to the Umm Al Qura calendar. The ceremony will be attended by several senior officials of the Haram presidency, said Mohammad Al Quwaifili, general supervisor of the Kiswa Factory

Islam's holiest shrine will be decorated with the new Kiswa, a specially adorned black silk cloth covering the entire structure, at the culmination of the Haj, on Dhu Al Hijjah 9, the Arafat Day.

This year's Arafat day is probably on November 26, depending on the sighting of the new moon. The Kiswa is wrapped around the Ka'aba and fixed to the ground with copper rings.

Most exquisite works of Islamic art

The Kiswa, which is considered one of the most exquisite works of Islamic art, costs more than SR20 million (Dh19.58 million). It is made of approximately 670 kilogrammes of pure white silk, which is later dyed black, and around 150 kilogrammes of gold and silver. The Kiswa is 14 metres high, to match the height of the Kaaba, and 47 metres wide, enough to cover the four sides of the Ka'aba, which are not identical in dimension.

Its upper half is decorated with a 95-centimetre wide strip featuring verses from the Quran, inscribed in gold plated silver thread, which weighs 120 kilogrammes. The Kiswa is made of five pieces. The fifth piece is the curtain of its door.

The Kiswa is composed of three parts: a sitaar (curtain) of the Ka'aba door, an inner lining curtain inside the Ka'aba and a hizam (the belt). The manufacturing of the Kiswa goes through several stages. This includes dyeing, computerised manufacturing of the fabric, printing of the Quranic verses, embroidery of the Quranic verses using gold thread, and finally the collection of all the pieces into the complete Kiswa

It is manufactured at the Kiswa factory, which is located in Makkah's Umm Al Joud suburb. The Kiswa was designed and tailored by more than 200 Saudi employees working in the factory. Skilled craftsmen use a combination of the latest technology, ancient looms and artistic calligraphy to produce a work of exotic beauty.