MAKKAH, 10 February 2003 — The Holy Kaaba will be adorned with a new kiswa (cloth) today — the day of the Standing at Arafat, the most important Haj ritual.
The new kiswa will be put in place at a ceremony organized by the Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques Affairs, which will be attended by a number of Saudi officials as well as diplomats from Arab and Muslim countries.
The 200 Saudi employees of the Kaaba Cover Factory produce one kiswa a year. It costs SR17 million ($4.53 million) and requires 450 kilograms of pure silk woven into approximately 658 square meters of cloth.
The Kaaba cover is a unique work of art made of black silk and adorned with phrases in praise of Allah. The 14-meter-long cloth has a gilded 95-cm belt along the top containing phrases from the Qur’an in Arabic calligraphy within an arabesque frame.
Below the belt are other verses from the Qur’an and phrases in praise of God adorned with Islamic decoration.
The section called burqaa, which is a curtain covering the door of the Kaaba, is similarly embellished with text from holy scripture in gold plated silver.
The complete cover is made of five pieces — four covering each side of the cube-like edifice and the burqaa, sewn together once the cover is in place. All gold and silver embroidery on the kiswa is made by hand.
