Zaki Kassar, a textile worker with 39 years of experience in the Kiswa Factory of the Holy Kaaba, confirmed that the factory tried to get machines to help them finish the Kiswa (cover of the Kaaba), but it could not outperform the hand embroidery.
In a video published by the Saudi Center for Government Communication (CGC), Kassar said that the hand embroidery process is considered a great art that revolves around several integrated steps
Kassar welcomes pilgrims and visitors with great passion since his beginnings in the factory, noting that people start crying with joy when they see the cover of the Kaaba
About his journey in the factory, Kassar, who is on the verge of retirement from the Kaaba Covering Factory, said although in his early days he went to Riyadh to look for a job in the military, but he got a job in the Kaaba Kiswa Factory, and now he completed 39 years there.
“The first needle I embroidered in the Kiswa made me feel refreshed in my heart,” he said.
Because of the intensity of Kassar’s passion and love for his work, he said that he has not been absent from work since his first day 39 years ago, indicating that his fingers had traces of embroidery needles on them.
The many years that the workers, who work for 7 continuous hours a day, spend in the factory allows for friendships to blossom and makes them become like one family. That’s why Kassar described his colleague Hamdan as a “lifetime friend.”
During Hajj 2023, a number of pilgrims paid a visit to the factory. African Hajj pilgrim Muhammad Shafi described his experience of visiting the factory, saying it was a beautiful feeling after they touched the Kiswa and experienced textile embroidery.
He also said that he wished to return to this place. He said, he cannot wait to return next year with his wife and his two sons to visit the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in Makkah to see it, and to witness how he was one of the contributors to embroidering the dazzling beauty of the Kiswa and preparing it for the new year.
Bosnian Hajj pilgrim Umm Ali said that she started crying when she entered the factory and saw the covering of the Kaaba, indicating that she wished that she could visit it again with her children.
It is worth mentioning that in May 2017, King Salman’s approval was issued regarding changing the name of the Kiswa Factory of the holy Kaaba in Makkah to the King Abdul Aziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa.
The Holy Kaaba enjoys great care given by the government of Saudi Arabia since the era of the founder King Abdul Aziz. He ordered the establishment of a special house for the manufacture of the Holy Kaaba’s Kiswa in Makkah.
The Holy Kaaba’s Kiswa, whose annual cost currently exceeds SR20 million and weighs 850 kilograms, is characterized by the fact that it is woven and embroidered with threads of silk, gold and silver every year.
The number of gilded pieces that adorn the Kaaba reaches 54, and this is done in a specialized section in the complex, using 120 kilograms of gilding, 100 kilograms of gold-plated silver, as well as 760 kilograms of silk.
