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28 March 2024

Kaaba dressed in SR20m silk cover

The cladding consists of five massive pieces that will cover each face of Kaaba. (SUPPLIED)

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By Staff

Saudi Arabia has completed the preparation of a SR20-million traditional dress that will envelope Kaaba, the most sacred site in Makkah, ahead of this year’s pilgrimage season starting next week, the local media reported on Monday.

The silk shroud, dyed in black, will spread around the cube-shaped Kaaba building this week before nearly two million Muslims from the Gulf Kingdom and other countries began pouring into Islam’s holiest shrine for Haj (pilgrimage).

The 85-metre long dress is around 47 metres wide and 14 metres high and is made of pure silk embroidered on the shape of a jellyfish written on it «O Living, O Self, O Merciful, O Most Merciful, Praise be to Allah.”

The cladding consists of five massive pieces that will cover each face of Kaaba. The fifth piece will be placed as a curtain covering Kaaba’s entrance.

 Kaaba has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are.

One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime if they are able to do so. Multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims to walk seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed from above.

This circumambulation, the Tawaf, is also performed by pilgrims during the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage). However, the most dramatic times are during the Hajj, when all pilgrims simultaneously gather to circle the building on the same day.