Makkah: The General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia changed the Kiswa of the Holy Kaaba, as per the annual custom, in a continuous legacy of care that has lasted for 100 years.
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Kiswa was changed by a work team from the King Abdulaziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa consisting of 154 national cadres, distributed along the sides and roof of the Holy Kaaba according to their specialisations. The team began by dismantling the old Kiswa and installing the new one, then securing it on the corners and roof of the Kaaba.
The new Kiswa weighs 1,415 kilograms, is 14 metres high, and consists of four separate sides and a door curtain. It includes about 825 kilograms of raw silk that was dyed black inside the complex, 120 kilograms of gold-plated silver thread, 60 kilograms of pure silver thread, and 410 kilograms of raw cotton.
The Kiswa features 47 pieces of black silk brocade covering the entire Holy Kaaba, on which are fixed 16 pieces of the hizam (decorative band) fixed above the Kiswa, 7 pieces of decorations under the hizam, 5 pieces for the door curtain of the Kaaba, 17 lanterns, as well as two side decorations, two kinaras, 4 samadiyas, and one piece representing the decoration of the rain spout.
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