Piece of curtain used to cover Holy Ka’aba reinstalled at UN headquarters

The curtain was unveiled during a ceremony attended by officials and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

A piece of the Kiswah, the black silk and gold-embroidered curtain used to cover the holy Ka’aba, has been reinstalled at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York. 

The curtain was unveiled during a ceremony attended by officials and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

According to reports, the piece was first presented to the UN in the early 1980s and sent to Mecca in 2014 as the Indonesian Hall, where the piece had been installed, needed to undergo renovation. While back in Saudi Arabia, the piece also underwent maintenance work.

The fabric consists of nearly 50 black cloths made of pure silk and is decorated with verses from the Quran. It is interwoven with silver threads covered with gold.

Kiswah is draped annually, covering the Ka’aba, on the 9th day of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah on the Islamic calendar. The time coincides with the day Muslim pilgrims leave for the plains of Mount Arafat during the Hajj pilgrimage.