Tailors in Saudi Arabia Kaaba Kiswa factory have started embroidering on a 14 metre long pure silk cloth that is dyed black with 120 kg of gold strings and 25 kg of silver threads called kiswa. It is the cloth which covers the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is draped annually over the Kaaba at dawn on the ninth of Dhu Hijjah.

Mohammed bin Abdullah Bajawda, director of the Kaaba Kiswa factory, said that the process includes dyeing, electric weaving, printing, embroidery and then assembling the different parts the Kiswa. Different inscriptions and expressions are woven into the fabric using verses from the Holy Qur’an with gold thread.

Though the cost of new kiswa is not known, last year it was worth SR 17million (AED 17 million).

Bajawda said that Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, chief of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, and his deputy, Mohammad bin Nasser Al-Khuzaim, inaugurated the factory’s new high-tech machines that were made specifically to speed up the manufacturing process.

The state-of-the-art embroidery machine is a Tajma-tfmx-602, which offers the latest technology, and can sew up to 1,000 stitches per minute.

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.

The factory workers make sure they take special care of the Kiswa, especially as it could be damaged or dirtied from friction and large crowds, they have teams working around the clock to maintain and fix the Kiswa.

The factory has become a known symbol of the two holy cities and is visited by thousands of pilgrims from around the world, many of them express their gratitude and appreciation for the development of the factory.