31 Saudi workers prepare a new Kiswa,(Ka’bah cover) at Ka’ba’s Kiswa factory in Makkah city Saudi Arabia on 29 November 2008,during a pilgrimage season, The Kiswa material is made up of silk and a gold embroidered band is sewn about three fourth the distance from the bottom. The part covering the door, which stands 2.13 metres above the ground on the north-east side wall, is covered separately with richly embroidered Quranic verses, leaving an opening for the black stone. (Salah Malkawi/ The National)