Makkah, June 16 -- The Kiswah of the Kaaba (Ghilaf-e-Kaaba) at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, has been changed in an intricate annual ritual. The ceremony took place Tuesday morning, June 16, the first of Muharram, marking the beginning of the new Islamic year of 1448.

The process was carried out by the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque under the supervision of the President of the Presidency, Sheikh Dr Abdul Rahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Sudais.

A team of technicians and craftsmen from the King Abdulaziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswah completed a ten-step process to replace an old cloth with a new one.

The team, based on their respective specializations, dismantled the old Kiswah, inst...