Dozens of Saudi craftsmen, mostly in their 40s and 50s, are hard at work in a factory in Mecca preparing an embroidered black and gold cloth to cover the Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam.
Known as the kiswa, the cloth is woven from silk and cotton and adorned with verses from the Koran. A new one is made each year to be placed on the Kaaba in Mecca's Grand Mosque during the annual Muslim haj pilgrimage, which begins on Wednesday.(REUTERS /SPA)
Known as the kiswa, the cloth is woven from silk and cotton and adorned with verses from the Koran. A new one is made each year to be placed on the Kaaba in Mecca's Grand Mosque during the annual Muslim haj pilgrimage, which begins on Wednesday.(REUTERS /SPA)