- JEDDAH: The Kaaba will take on its usual cover on Saturday when its kiswa — the black-silk-and-gold-fiber cover — returns to ground level in an annual tradition that follows the Haj seasons.
The kiswa is raised to expose the bricks of the Kaaba mainly as a measure to protect the cover from damage during the Haj, according to Muhammad ibn Abdul Karim Al-Quwaifli, the supervisor of the kiswa factory in Makkah.
“This (raising of the kiswa) is meant to protect the dress from being made dirty during the tawafat (circumambulations by the pilgrims) around the Kaaba,” he told Arab News on Friday.
The kiswa is raised on Arafat Day to a level where pilgrims cannot touch it and its lowering represents the official end of the Haj season.
The Kaaba gets its new outfit twice a year — once before Ramadan and again before the Haj. Old kiswas are given as official diplomatic gifts by the Kingdom to heads of state and others.
