The sitara textile is a gift to the sanctuary from late King Fahd and has been loaned to the British Museum by the King Abdul Aziz Public Library in Saudi Arabia. This beautiful curtain for the door of the Kaaba is 34 meters wide and 65 meters high and is the first object visitors will see on entering the exhibition. This textile, known as a sitara, was made to cover the door of the Kaaba in Makkah and was produced in a special factory there.

Traditionally the textiles for the Kaaba are renewed every year as part of the rituals of Haj, and this sitara was offered as a gift by King Fahd (1982 - 2005). It was made in 2003 in the kiswa factory at Makkah from silk with silver and silver-gilt wire.

Asked about the significance of this sitara, Ahmad Turkistani the official spokesperson of the King Abdel Aziz Public Library, said: "The sitara will stand to symbolize the Holy Kaaba because we cannot actually bring the kiswa. It has been borrowed from the General Presidency for the Affairs of Al-Masjid Al-Haram and Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi to be displayed at this exhibition."

Director at the British museum Venetia Porter told Arab News, "We're almost done and it's hugely exciting. We're just doing the final touches so it has been completely marvelous. Having the sitara is just the crowning glory of the exhibition and we are hugely grateful to the Saudi Embassy in the United Kingdom and for the King Abdul Aziz Public Library who organized everything for us from Saudi Arabia."