The Kaaba is adorned with a new Kiswah to mark the beginning of the Islamic year 1448 AH at the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
Makkah: The Kiswah of the Kaaba (Ghilaf-e-Kaaba) at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, has been changed in an intricate annual ritual. The ceremony took place Tuesday morning, June 16, the first of Muharram, marking the beginning of the new Islamic year of 1448.
The process was carried out by the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque under the supervision of the President of the Presidency, Sheikh Dr Abdul Rahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Sudais.
A team of technicians and craftsmen from the King Abdulaziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswah completed a ten-step process to replace an old cloth with a new one.
The team, based on their respective specializations, dismantled the old Kiswah, installed the new one, and fixed it at the corners and roof of the holy Kaaba.
To install the Kiswah, each side of the four sides of the Kaaba was lifted separately to the top, spread over the old side, fixed by tying and lowering, then moved up and down, lowering the old side from below and leaving the new side.
The process was repeated four times for each side until the Kiswah was completed and then the belt was weighed in a straight line by sewing it.
The sides and corners of the covering are fixed by sewing from the top to the bottom, followed by the placement of the curtain, which requires skill and time. A cut was made in the black fabric to match the size of the curtain, approximately 3.33 meters wide and 6.35 meters long.
The number of gilded pieces of the Kaaba’s covering is 53, including 16 pieces for the belt, 7 pieces under the belt, 4 pendants, 17 lanterns, 5 pieces for the door curtain, a piece for the Yemeni corner, 2 kinars, and a gutter ornament.
This post was last modified on June 16, 2026 6:05 am