New Kaaba cover installed on eve of Islamic New Year 1444

 

On Saturday, in a change of tradition, the new cover of the Holy Kaaba in Makkah, Islam’s holiest city, was installed at the dawn of the new Islamic year of 1444. The Kiswa, the cloth that covers the Kaaba in Makkah, was carried out by a team of 200 Saudi Arabian technicians from the King Abdulaziz Complex for Manufacturing Kaaba’s Kiswa under the supervision of Sheikh Sudais. Kaaba is a building at the centre of the Masjid al-Haram in Makkah.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the new Kiswa consisted of four separate sides and the door curtain was installed. According to Arab News, technicians at the King Abdulaziz Complex do the stitching and printing by hand. They are reportedly using 47 pieces of cloth and thread to make the Kiswa. The world’s largest computerized sewing machine, at 16 meters in length, carries out the process to make the Kiswa. The Kiswa is decorated with Quranic verses. According to media reports, the cost of the new Kiswa is estimated to cost nearly SR25 million or over $6.5 million, making it the world’s most expensive covering. The new Kiswa will stay in place until Hajj next year.

Earlier, the Kiswa was replaced once a year during Hajj on the morning of Dhul Hijjah 9 after the pilgrims go to Mount Arafat, a granodiorite hill about 20 km southeast of Makkah, in preparation for receiving worshippers the next morning, which coincides with Eid Al-Adha. This tradition was followed every year.

In June, Saudi Arabia's General Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques announced the change in the tradition to hold the annual event on the eve of Muharram 1, the first day in the Hijri calendar. Reportedly, the change of tradition was based on a royal decision.