Contrary to tradition, the new covering of the Sacred Kaaba in Mecca was installed in the early hours of Saturday, at the dawn of the new Islamic year 1444.
Previously, the kiswa was replaced once a year during the Hajj, specifically on the morning of 9 Dhul-Hijjah after pilgrims depart for Mount Arafat, as part of preparations to receive worshippers on the following morning, which coincides with Eid al-Adha.
Last month, the General Presidency of Saudi Arabia for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques announced a change in tradition, so that the annual event would be held on the eve of Muharram 1, the first day of the Hijri calendar.
Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, President of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, said that the change is being made based on a royal decree.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, the replacement of the kiswa in the early hours of Saturday was carried out by a team of 200 Saudi technicians from the King Abdulaziz Complex for the Manufacture of the Kaaba Kiswa under the supervision of Sheikh Al-Sudais.
Describing the process, SPA reported: «The new kiswa consisted of four separate sides, and a door curtain was installed. Each of the four sides of the Kaaba was separately raised to the top of the Kaaba in preparation for its unfolding onto the old side, and the edge was secured at the top, tied at the bottom, and the other end of the edge was lowered after the ropes of the old edge were loosened.
«Moving the new side up and down in constant motion, then the old side was lowered from below, and the new side remained, and the process was repeated four times for each side until the garment was completed, then the belt was weighed in a straight line from the four sides, stitching it.
«This process began first from the hem side, in view of the presence of the gutter, which has its opening at the top of the garment, and after all sides were secured, the corners were sewn, stitching them from the top of the garment to the bottom.».
Technicians at the King Abdulaziz Complex weave, sew, and print by hand and on machines, using 47 pieces of fabric and threads to manufacture the kiswa. This process is carried out by the world's largest computerized sewing machine, 16 meters long.
The fabric is sewn from five different parts and secured to the base with copper rings. At the complex, approximately 670 kg of raw silk is dyed black.
The kiswa is decorated with verses from the Quran embroidered on the fabric with 120 kilograms of 21-karat gold thread and 100 kilograms of silver thread.
The cost of manufacturing the new 850-kilogram kiswa is estimated at 25 million Saudi riyals, or more than 6.5 million dollars, making it the most expensive covering in the world.