A new black cloth was placed on top of the Ka'ba as some two million pilgrims were preparing to move to Arafat. The Kiswa is 14 meters (42 feet) high, matching the height of the Ka'ba, and 47 meters (141 feet) wide, enough to cover the four sides of the cubicle edifice, which are not identical in dimension. Nearly 650 kg (1,430 pounds) of natural silk was required to make the Kiswa. The silk is imported, but the Kiswa was designed and sewn by more than 200 Saudi employees at a special factory set up by the Kingdom some 30 years ago. The old covering with all its related pieces is handed over to the Saudi government. It is divided into small sections, and the government gives these as gifts to senior guests, officials, religious institutions, international organizations, and Saudi embassies abroad. The manufacturing of the Ka'ba cover goes through several stages in which imported raw silk is dyed in order to create black, red and green fabrics. The venerable ancient tradition of re-adorning the Ka'ba with the new Kiswa is an annual event. The Kiswa is washed in rosewater and perfumed with musk and other fragrances. A center created specifically for making the Kiswa was set up on the order of King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud in 1927. With the passage of time and the progress of the art of weaving and the advancement of technology, the late King Faisal decided to develop the center into a factory that could cope with the present day demands. In 1972 King Faisal issued a royal decree to expand the center into what has become Makkah's Kiswah Factory. It was inaugurated by the late King Fahd, who was then Crown Prince, in 1977.
