MAKKAH: Maintenance work was recently carried out on the Kaaba Kiswa in Makkah.

The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, represented by the King Abdulaziz Complex for Manufacturing Kaaba Kiswa and the General Administration for the Maintenance of the Kiswa, was concentrated on the cloth around the Rukan Yamani.

Amjad bin Ayed Al-Hazmi,  undersecretary-general of the Kaaba Kiswa complex, said the repairs were part of year-round care and maintenance of the Kaaba Kiswa.

The Kiswa is decorated with Quranic verses embroidered onto the cloth with 120 kilograms of 21-karat gold thread and 100 kilograms of silver thread.

The current Kiswa was installed at the Kaaba during the new Islamic year of Muharram 1, 1444, which coincided with July 30 in the Gregorian calendar.

The Kiswa is replaced annually in a tradition observed for centuries.

The cost of making a new 850-kilogram Kiswa is estimated to cost SR25 million, or over $6.5 million, making it the world’s most expensive covering.