Makkah: The Ka'ba was adorned with a new covering, known as the Kiswa, in an annually held ceremony here Monday, by the staff of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques. The new 14-meter high covering with silk and pure gold-trim was broadcast live. It costs SR20 million to produce a Kiswa at a specially-designed factory. The Kiswa includes the curtain on the door of Ka'ba, of wrought silk, six-and-a-half meter high and three-meters wide, decorated with verses and Islamic embroidery of silver wire and gold. The cladding consists of five connected pieces covering each of the sides of the Ka'ba. The fifth piece is the curtain.
