Saudi Arabia presents curtain of Holy Kaaba to UN

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia handed the ‘Kiswa’- the cloth that cover the kaaba at the headquarters of the United Nations.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon welcomed with pleasure the reinstallation of the curtain of the door of Holy Kaaba.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia’s permanent representative to the UN Abdullah Al- Muallami and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon unveiled a beautifully framed old kiswa (covering) of the door of the Holy Kaaba at the Indonesian Hall.

The curtain of the door of Holy Kaaba was presented to the UN in the early 1980s and that piece has now been replaced with a new one. The UN Secretary Genera thanked Saudi Arabia for the precious gift.

“I am pleased to join you to mark the reinstallation of this magnificent gift to the United Nations from Saudi Arabia,” Ban said in a statement.

“We are honoured that this example of cultural heritage and tradition is here with us at the United Nations.”
In 1983, the late Saudi King King Fahd presented the original curtain of the Kaaba door as a gift to the UN.

The tapestry gifted to the UN consist of nearly 50 black cloths made of pure silk and is decorated with Quranic verses and interwoven with silver threads covered with gold.