Saudi Arabia: The Holy Kaaba gets a new Kiswa

A new Kiswa, or black cloth covering, was placed on the Kaaba, early on Thursday. Stringent protocols such as mask wearing were followed during the annual tradition, in order to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

Saudi workers carry the new Kiswa, the protective cover that engulfs the Kaaba, made from black silk and gold thread and embroidered with Qoran verses, on July 29, 2020 in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca. The cover change was administered by the staff of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques in accordance with yearly tradition.

A security man checks the temperature of a worker as they work on raising the Kiswa.

Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al-Mansouri, deputy head of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques and director-general of the King Abdul Aziz Complex for the Kaaba, said in a statement that the Holy Kaaba was donned with a new Kiswa, constituted of four sides and a sitar (curtain) for the door.

Each of the four parts of the Kiswa was separately raised, in preparation for stretching it on the old side. The side was consolidated from above by tying it and dropping at the other end after the old side's ropes were untied by moving the new side up and down, Electronic channels/Saudi Gazette reported.

Then, the old side was removed from the bottom and the new side remained, and the process was repeated four times for each section until the operation was complete and the belt was sewn in a line, straight with the four sides, Al-Mansouri said.

Al-Mansouri added: "The process began from the side of the Hateem (a semi-circular wall opposite the northwest wall of the Kaaba), because Al-Mizab (a rainwater spout made of gold) requires a special opening at the top.

The drape which engulfs the Kaaba is formally called Kiswa and is changed every year at the culmination of the annual haj, or pilgrimage, when the hajjis have left Mecca to go to Arafat, the starting point of their haj journey.

The process of replacing the Kiswa occurs annually on the 9th of Dul Hijja, which marks the second day of Haj.

A worker wearing a protective face mask works on raising the Kiswa. After consolidating all the sides, the corners were fixed by sewing them from the top of the cloth to the bottom. Then, the curtain that required more time and hard work was installed by making a small opening with an approximate width of 3.30 meters.

Three other holes were made in the black cloth to put the curtain in place under the cloth, and the sides were sewn in the black cloth of the dress, Al-Mansouri said, adding that the Kaaba cloth is made of 670 kg of high-quality silk, 120 kg of gold threads, and 100 kg of silver threads.

As many as 200 Saudi craftsmen are engaged in producing the black curtain at the King Abdul Aziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa, Al-Mansouri.

The kiswa is 14 meters in length. In the covering’s third quarter part there is a belt which is 95 cm wide and 47 m. long. The kiswa is a five-piece covering; four pieces cover a side of the square Kaaba. while the fifth piece is the curtain which covers its entrance.

The Kaaba represents the metaphorical house of God and the oneness of God in Islam. Observant Muslims around the world face toward the Kaaba during their five daily prayers.