new kiswa was sent by Mu’awiya made out of silk, qubati, and striped wool. Following the original replacement of the old hangings, the caliph sent two kiswas annually, with one being made out of qubati and the other silk; the silk kiswa is reported to have been draped over the former which would arrive in Mecca at least three months prior. Successive Umayyad caliphs would adhere to the precedent set by Mu’awiya and continue to supply kiswas made either of Egyptian linen or silk and drape them over the coverings from previous years. Much like their Umayyad predecessors, the Abbasids continued to rely on Egyptian factories for the production of the kiswa. However, the Abbasid caliph Al-Mahdi would establish the precedent of annually removing and replacing the old kiswa after realizing the accumulated weight from the old kiswas could structurally compromise the Kaaba following his pilgrimage to Mecca in 777 CE. Location of manufacture From the time of the Ayyubids, precisely during the reign of as-Salih Ayyub, the kiswa was manufactured in Egypt, with material sourced locally as well as from Sudan, India, and Iraq. The Amir al-Hajj (commander of the hajj caravan), who was directly designated by the sultans of the Mamluk, and later, Ottoman Empires, transported the kiswa from Egypt to Mecca on an annual basis. Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt ordered the expenses for making the kiswa to be met by his state treasury in the early 19th century. Since then, Dar Al-Khoronfosh, a workshop in Cairo’s Al-Gamaleya district, had been selected for the task of making the kiswa, and continued this role throughout the reign of the Egyptian monarchy. After the take over of the Hijaz region, and from 1927 onward, its manufacture was partially moved to Mecca and then fully moved in 1962, when Egypt stopped manufacturing. Tradition Historic procession of the Kaaba The procession of the kiswa and its journey to Mecca dates back to 1184 CE from an account by Ibn Jubayr. According to Ibn Jubayr, the kiswa was brought to Mecca via camel from its place of creation along with an elaborate procession of drums and flags. The kiswa was then placed on the roof of the Kaaba once it reached Mecca, still folded. On the 134th day of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, the Banu Shayba completely unfolded the cloth to fully display the embroideries and their inscriptions. The tradition of