In preparation for the start of Hajj 2024, the authorities in Makkah, Saudi Arabia raised the Kiswa (Ghilaf-e-Kaaba). The Kiswa, the cloth covering the Holy Kaaba, was raised by three meters and the lower part was covered with a white cotton cloth (Ihram) two meters wide on all four sides, an annual practice to help prevent damage to the Kaaba before the Hajj.