Badea Abu Al-Naja
Saudi Gazette
 

MAKKAH — Eight employees work day and night inside the Grand Mosque to keep a close eye on the kiswa (the embroidered black cloth that adorns the Holy Kaaba) to make sure that visitors don’t damage it, according to an official.

“We have pilgrims coming from various parts of the wide Islamic World with varying religious backgrounds. We have faced instances of pilgrims behaving in inappropriate conducts and damaging the kiswa such as chewing its weaves for blessings,” said kiswa factory head Muhammad Bajoudah.

He said the cover is cleaned on a weekly basis. “We also clean the door of the Kaaba and its handles,” said Bajoudah.

He also said the factory raises awareness of the importance of the kiswa and its history. Bajoudah said the facility never stops working.

The Presidency of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has said that the factory manufacturing kiswa is operating 24/7 throughout the year.

Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, chief of the presidency, said the kiswa factory is run by tradition. “Kneading the black cloth with golden embroidery is not a job one can learn in an internship. 

Kiswa factory is run by people growing up beside the Kaaba and watching the process from the factory’s workshop to the annual changing of the kiswa,” said Al-Sudais.

He added that the presidency has a special unit dedicated to the kiswa of the Kaaba to follow up with the agenda and progress of the factory.

Bajoudah said the factory has a national and international presence showcasing the wonders of the kiswa.

“We participate in local festivities such as Al-Janadriyah and also international exhibitions and museums in Europe and other parts of the world. 

In the past, we used to manufacture the kiswa in several different factories in different areas of the world. But today it is a 100 percent made-in-Saudi-Arabia,” said Bajoudah.

The kiswa is 14 meters (42 feet) high, to match the height of the Kaaba, and 47 meters (141 feet) wide, enough to cover the four sides of Islam’s holiest site, which are not identical in dimension.

Its upper half is decorated with a 95-cm (three-foot) wide strip featuring verses from the Holy Qur’an, inscribed in gold plated silver thread, which weighs 120 kg. 

The kiswa is made of five pieces. The fifth piece is the curtain of its door. Nearly 650 kg of natural silk is required to make the kiswa.

The silk is imported, but the kiswa is designed and tailored by more than 200 Saudi employees at the special factory.

Every year, pieces of the old kiswa are presented as gifts to Muslim countries and senior Muslim personalities.

Saleh Fareed
 

JEDDAH — The ongoing Ramadan festival called “Ramdanana Kida”(Our Ramadan Was Like This) at the historic Balad district of Jeddah has set a new Guinness world record for the longest connected iftar table. 

Iftar is the meal eaten by Muslims to break their fast after sunset during Ramadan. Jeddah’s longest iftar table measured 1.508 meters in length comprising 640 tables. 

The table arranged near Al-Jaffali Mosque brought together thousands of people from all over Jeddah to break their fast with the attendance of Saudi officials and representatives from the Guinness Book of Records.

The event was organized by Afia in coordination with the governorate of Jeddah, Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the organizing committee of “Ramdanana Kida” festival.

The official adjudicators announced the new record which beats the previous one in Finland last year where 1.286-meter-long table was arranged by Ölvin, Bistro Cantor and C&D Fastfood in Loviisa.

The “Ramdanana Kida” festival includes commercial, social, cultural, religious, sporting, environmental and heritage activities.

To represent the identity of the Hijazis, who love hard work and helping out people, the festival opened the way for more than 150 young Hijazis to get involved. 

They welcome the visitors and guide them in Hijazi style, and also contribute to the maintenance of security and regulating traffic.

On Tuesday, Prince Mishal Bin Majed, governor of Jeddah and the chairman of the high committee of “Ramadanana Kida,” toured the facilities and events of the festival. 

He was briefed on the overall activities of the festival, which aims to revive the Hijazi heritage.

He advised the organizers to highlight this important traditional event with the aim of promoting the Kingdom as a hub of culture, literature and Arab and Islamic history that preserves its heritage and artistic treasures.