brjimc
05-04-08, 04:38 PM
I did some research on this issue.
The tapestry is called "Kiswa".
The Kaaba is covered with new kiswa (cover) every year, which coincides with Haj. It was a custom started by the Prophet Ismail 4000 years before the origin of Islam.
Every year the old Kiswa is removed, cut into small pieces and gifted to certain individuals, visiting foreign Muslim dignitaries and organisations. Some of them sell their share as souvenirs of Haj. Earlier Umar bin al-Khattab (Leader in early Islamic history) would cut it in to pieces and distribute them among the pilgrims who used them as shelter from the heat of Makkah.
The present cost of making the kiswa amounts to SAR 17 million ($ 4,537,048 USD). The cover is 658 sq. metres long and is made of 670 kgs of pure silk. For embroidery 15 kilos of gold threads are used. It consists of 47 pieces of cloth and each piece is 14 Mts. long and 101 cms broad. The kiswa is wrapped around the Kaaba and fixed to the ground with copper rings.
Traditionally the pattern of kiswa has not changed. The material is made up of silk and a gold embroidered band is sewn about three fourth the distance from the bottom. The part covering the door, which stands 2.13 mts above the ground on the north-east side wall, is covered separately with richly embroidered Quranic verses, leaving an opening for the black stone.
More of the article on the Kabba here: Link (http://islamfactor.org/index.php?showtopic=217&st=0)
The tapestry is called "Kiswa".
The Kaaba is covered with new kiswa (cover) every year, which coincides with Haj. It was a custom started by the Prophet Ismail 4000 years before the origin of Islam.
Every year the old Kiswa is removed, cut into small pieces and gifted to certain individuals, visiting foreign Muslim dignitaries and organisations. Some of them sell their share as souvenirs of Haj. Earlier Umar bin al-Khattab (Leader in early Islamic history) would cut it in to pieces and distribute them among the pilgrims who used them as shelter from the heat of Makkah.
The present cost of making the kiswa amounts to SAR 17 million ($ 4,537,048 USD). The cover is 658 sq. metres long and is made of 670 kgs of pure silk. For embroidery 15 kilos of gold threads are used. It consists of 47 pieces of cloth and each piece is 14 Mts. long and 101 cms broad. The kiswa is wrapped around the Kaaba and fixed to the ground with copper rings.
Traditionally the pattern of kiswa has not changed. The material is made up of silk and a gold embroidered band is sewn about three fourth the distance from the bottom. The part covering the door, which stands 2.13 mts above the ground on the north-east side wall, is covered separately with richly embroidered Quranic verses, leaving an opening for the black stone.
More of the article on the Kabba here: Link (http://islamfactor.org/index.php?showtopic=217&st=0)