Sacred Covers

Hülya Tezcan

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The Holy Ka’aba located in Mecra al-Mukarramah, Rawdah al-Mutaharah that house the tomb of Prophet Muhammed (s.a.v.) in Medina al Munawara, and Masjid al-Aqsa in al-Quds are holy places to which all Muslims and their States were honoured tor ender service throughout history. After Ottoman Sultan Selim I’s assuming the task of “Khadim al-Haramayn” (Servant of the Two Sacred Cities) the Ottoman State rendered innumerable services to these places for four centuries. Those various services include protection, maintenance and repairs, infrastructure development and economic assistance. Those that are related to the Holy Ka’aba in particular included protection of the door, the curtains, the keys, the pillars and the Groove of the Ka’aba and renewal of some of these. One of the services performed at regular intervals was renewal of the interiror covers, curtains and belts of the Ka’aba and the Rawdah al-Mutaharah. The old covers, curtains and belts replaced with new ones were considered as sacred by the Ottoman State and preserved meticulously, while some of them were used in structures of spiritual value such as mosques and tombs.These covers and curtains constitute a unique collection preserved in the Topkapı Palace Museum. The distinguished art historian and leading expert of the collection, DR. Hülya Tezcan has studied this collection and prepared this catalog.This work, presented as a hardcover with four-color offset printing on coated paper, is 462 pages. Volumes prepared in Turkish and Arabic are also available