Holy Kaaba washing ceremony: Saudi Crown Prince leads ceremony in Mecca

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Tuesday led the annual washing ceremony of the Holy Kaaba on behalf of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The Crown Prince was accompanied by a number of dignitaries and carried out the ceremony, which is part of the tradition set by Prophet Mohammed, after performing prayers.

He was accompanied by Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki, Minister of Sports and was welcomed by the President of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz al-Sudais, the SPA said in a statement.

In a video shared by SPA on Twitter, the Crown Prince was seen carrying a cloth and cleaning the inner walls.

“Following that, the Crown Prince performed two Rakaas as per the tradition of Prophet Mohammed,” the statement added.

Maintaining the Holy Kaaba is an important and delicate ritual and cleaning is done based on traditions.

The walls and the floors of the Kaaba are cleaned differently. A white cloth, soaked in rose and musk scents, is used for cleaning the interior walls while the floors are washed using a mixture of Zamzan water and rose perfumes.

This mixture is splashed on the floors that are cleaned with the bare hands and palm leaves.