New Kiswa ready for Kaaba

WORK OF ART: Workers at the Kiswa factory in Makkah working on a cover for the Kaaba in this file photo.

MAKKAH: Preparations are underway to drape the Kaaba with the new Kiswa, which has been made of pure silk and embroidered with gold and silver threads, on the 9th of Dul Hijjah.

Mohammed bin Abdullah Bajawda, director of the Kaaba Kiswa factory at Umm Al-Joud in Makkah, recently held a meeting in this regard with undersecretary of the factory, Fayez bin Abdulmalik, heads of departments in the factory and artisans.
The meeting discussed operational and technical aspects of changing the Kiswa from the four sides of the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
“The dressing time should be carried out after the morning prayers and should be organized according to a predetermined plan,” Bajawda told local media.
The Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques under the supervision of Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais takes care of the Kiswa, its general facilities and the Kaaba throughout the year, under the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.
Artisans working in the Kiswa factory are listed in the national register of artisans and craftsmen by the National Handicraft Program (Bari), which aims at achieving a sustainable and balanced development in the handicraft sector.
According to Bajawda, the Kiswa changing ceremony has been taking place on Dul Hijjah 9, when the pilgrims assemble in Arafat at the peak of Haj pilgrimage. The ceremony starts after Fajr prayer and continues until Asr prayer.
More than 240 people work in the factory’s different departments. It has the largest computerized tailoring machine in the world with a length of 16 meters. Skilled craftsmen use a combination of the latest technology, ancient looms and artistic calligraphy to produce a work of exotic beauty. Usually, the new cloth is ready two months before Haj.
A Kiswa consumes about 700 kg of silk and 120 kg of golden and silver threads. It consists of 47 pieces of cloth, and each piece is 14 meters long and 101cm wide. The Kiswa is wrapped around the Kaaba and fixed to the ground with copper rings.