Holy Kaaba to be draped with 5-million-dollar covering

The Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure honoured by Muslims as the house of God, will be covered soon with a new 670-kilo black silk blanket as part of the annual preparations of the holy Muslim Hajj (pilgrimage), reports said Thursday.

The Kaaba cover, referred to as a "kiswa" in Arabic, is made of black silk and adorned with phrases in praise of God ornamented with 150 kilos of gold and silver thread.

The 14-metre-long cloth has a gilded 95-centimetre belt along the top containing verses from the Koran in Arabic calligraphy within an arabesque frame.

Costing about 5.36 million dollars, the kiswa took a whole year to produce in a specialized factory.