MAKKAH: A team of 40 specialists from the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques took part in lifting the lower part of the Kiswa (Kaaba cover) by three meters and covering the exposed area with white cotton fabric in preparation for the Hajj season. This yearly tradition is aimed at protecting the cloth from pilgrims as they perform tawaf and to preserve the silk threads from friction, with the lifting a symbol to start Hajj. Abdul Hamid Al-Maliki, deputy president of the King Abdul Aziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa and assistant undersecretary for the affairs of the Grand Mosque, said the team from the complex, along with medical and technical personnel, supervised the safety of the process and of the people carrying it out. He said the cover was lifted in accordance with the presidency’s procedures, precautions and guidelines. “Lifting the lower part (of the Kiswa) is a yearly procedure and was lifted throughout three hours, from Wednesday at 9 p.m. until Thursday at midnight,” he told Arab News. Caption The team included officials responsible for the Kiswa, administrators and people in charge of quality, as well as observation and scrutiny teams that monitored the lifting procedures, he added, stressing that the mission was accomplished on time, with the general president personally following up on the process. “Changing the Kaaba cloth will take place after the dawn prayer on the ninth day of the month of Dul Hijjah. The cloth does not dangle even with change, until the washing of the Kaaba on Muharram 15.” He explained there would be daily follow ups from a specialist team who would monitor the stability and condition of the cloth, providing it with immediate maintenance if needed. A team from the King Abdul Aziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa supervised the safety of the process and of the people carrying it out. (SPA) “The Two Holy Mosques receive the direct attention of the Saudi government which highlights their worthy image and facilitates all amenities to people who visit them, with the constant follow up of Sheikh Abdurahman Al-Sudais, head of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques.” The King Abdul Aziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa had become a landmark visited by people from all over the world, he said. The Kaaba is covered with pure silk that features Islamic calligraphy sewn from gold and silver thread by highly qualified Saudis who have many years of training.