The Kiswa, the black silk covering of the Holy Kaaba, will be ceremoniously changed on Thursday by the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque in honor of the beginning of the Islamic year 1447 AH.
The new Kiswa was made in the King Abdulaziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswah in the Umm Al Joud neighborhood of Mecca after over 11 months of painstaking craftsmanship.
Following centuries-old customs, the procedure consists of seven primary steps: water purification, silk washing, black dyeing, weaving, printing Quranic verses geometrically, gold and silver thread embroidery, final assembly, and inspection.
The Kiswa, which is made of 47 finely woven pieces of black silk, is embellished with 68 Quranic passages that are embroidered using silver threads that have been plated with 24 carat gold. The Kiswa's entire weight comes to about 1,415 kg.
After the Asr prayer on Wednesday afternoon, the 29th of Dhu Al Hijjah, the ceremonial removal of the old Kiswa will commence. The new Hijri year will begin with the formal installation of the new covering early on Thursday, the first day of Muharram.
