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In an effort to meet up with the hajj deadline, trained Saudis are working around the clock to finish the Ka`aba Kiswah (curtains) which would be replaced on Arafa day, expected to fall on September 22.
In an effort to meet up with the hajj deadline, trained Saudis are working around the clock to finish the Ka`aba Kiswah (curtains) which would be replaced on Arafa day, expected to fall on September 22.
“We have teams working around the clock to maintain and fix the Kiswah,” Mohammed bin Abdullah Bajawda, director of the Ka`aba Kiswah factory, told Arab News on Sunday, September 6.
“The Kiswah is made of pure silk that is dyed black, and it takes about 700kg of pure silk to weave the Kiswah,” he added.
Manufactured in a special factory, the Kiswah making process includes dyeing, electric weaving, printing, embroidery and then assembling the different parts the Kiswah.
The 14-meter-long Kiswah is embroidered with 120kg of gold and 25kg of silver threads.
The machines used in the process were modernized recently in a new factory inaugurated by Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, chief of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, and his deputy, Mohammad bin Nasser Al-Khuzaim.
“The machine produces flags and emblems according to the presidency’s specifications. The machine, with its two heads, contains six colors thus reducing the time needed to complete a logo or other product,” he said.
The new factory is being visited by thousands of pilgrims from around the world.
“Many of them express their gratitude and appreciation for the development of the factory,” he said.
After finishing it, the new Kiswah will be handed out and draped over the Ka`aba at dawn on the ninth of Dhu Hijjah.
The Ka`aba Kiswah is draped annually on the 9th day of the month of Dhul-Hijjah on the Islamic calendar.
The time coincides with the day Muslim pilgrims leave for the plains of Mount Arafat during the Hajj pilgrimage.
It is used to cover the Ka`aba, the most sacred Islamic site, which attracts millions of Muslims every year.
All Muslims around the world face the Ka`aba during their daily prayers.
Every year, the old Kiswah is removed, cut into small pieces, and given to individuals such as visiting foreign Muslim dignitaries as well as organizations.
In the past, the Kiswah was divided and distributed among the families known as the Ka`aba curtain holders. Later, the Saudi Arabian government decided to send the Kiswah to different Muslim countries as a gift.
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