Watch: Kaaba’s Kiswah raised in preparation for Haj 2025

Makkah: In preparation for the 1446 AH-2025 Haj season, the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has raised the lower part of the Kiswah — the black silk cloth covering the Holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia — by about three meters.

The raised part has been covered with a white cotton cloth (Ihram) measuring two and a half metres in width and 54 metres in length, encircling all four sides after Isha prayer on Tuesday, May 13.

This procedure is carried out by a team of specialists from the King Abdul Aziz Complex, responsible for the Kaaba’s maintenance.

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The operation involved 36 specialised Saudi technicians and the use of 10 cranes. It includes several precise steps: unscrewing and detaching the lower segments of the Kiswah, untying and removing the bottom rope, rolling the fabric upwards, and then reinstalling the lanterns over the newly exposed white cloth.

This is an annual precautionary measure to protect the Kiswah from being touched or damaged by the millions of pilgrims who perform Tawaf — the ritual of circumambulating the Kaaba — during the sacred pilgrimage in Makkah.

The full Kiswah will be replaced on the 1st of Muharram, 1447 AH.

After its removal, the old Kiswah is cut into smaller pieces and distributed to selected individuals and organisations.

Since 1962, the Kiswah has been produced at the Kiswah Al-Kaaba factory in Makkah, which is owned and operated by the Saudi government.