The Kaaba is coverd by a black cloth known as 'Kiswa',wich is produced &
changed every year.

Special factory designed for the making of Kiswa in Makkah.

Every year the old Kiswa is removed, cut into small pieces and gifted to certain individuals, visiting foreign Muslim dignitaries and organizations. Some of them sell their share as souvenirs of the Hajj. In earlier times, Umar bin al-Khattab would cut it into pieces and distribute them among pilgrims who used them as shelter from the heat of Mecca. The present cost of making the kiswa amounts to apprx. SR 17,000,000. The cover is 658m2 and is made of 670kg of silk. The embroidery contains 15kg of gold threads. It consists of 47 pieces of cloth and each piece is 14m long and 101cm wide. The kiswa is wrapped around the Kaaba and fixed to the ground with copper rings. The manually designed embroidery of the Quranic verses are slowly being aided by computers, thus increasing the speed of finishing.