Saudi craftsmen, mostly in their 40s and 50s, worked in a factory in Makkah preparing a black cloth with gold embroidery to cover the Kaaba.
Known as kiswa, fabrics are woven from silk and cotton and decorated with Qur'anic verses. Made new every year to be placed at the Ka'bah in the Grand Mosque during the Hajj season.
Kiswa was produced in Egypt until 1962. The cover was originally red, green or white, but now it is black with embroidered gold calligraphy.
It takes almost 670 kg (1,477 lbs) of silk, to cover the height of the Kaaba structure about 50 feet (15 meters) long and 35 to 40 feet long, imported from Italy. Silver and gold coatings come from Germany.
Kiswa is embroidered and sewn in Saudi Arabia at a cost of $ 6 million.