Until 1927, Egypt used to manufacture the Kiswa and sent it in a huge annual parade before the hajj season.
But this tradition stopped after late Saudi King Abdel Aziz Al Saud ordered the establishment of a factory to manufacture the Kiswah. Made by 160 craftsmen, the Kiswa consists of black silk with self-embroidered calligraphies, and strips of embroidered in the lower part of the top quarter of the walls.
It is made with 670 kg of pure silk, and 120 kg of gold and 100 kg of silver thread that is used for sewing the Quranic verses.