Saudi officials have replaced the Kiswa (the cloth cover) of the Kaaba, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday.
The Kiswa covers the Kaaba, the cube-shaped building that Muslims believe was originally built by Prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismail, at the center of Mecca’s al-Masjid al-Haram (the Grand Mosque).
Muslims face the qibla or direction of the Kaaba, which is considered the “house of God,” when performing prayer anywhere in the world.
Every year, the gatekeepers of the Kaaba carry out the task of changing the black cloth draped over the holy structure.
The replacement of the Kaaba's Kiswa was carried out by a team selected from King Abdulaziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa, as the team began to dismantle the old Kiswa with the new one.
The new kiswa consists of four separate sides and the door curtain.
The holy Kaaba's kiswa consumes about 850 kg of raw silk, which was dyed black inside the complex, 120 kg of gold wire, and 100 silver wires.
This year, about 200 Saudi craftsmen were engaged in producing the black curtain at King Abdulaziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa.
