Sitaras for the Kaaba were part of a set of textiles made annually at a dedicated workshop in Cairo, the Dar al-Kiswa, until 1927 when the king Ibn Saud established a workshop in Mecca.[6][2] At the start of the 20th century, the Cairo workshop employed more than a hundred artists and textile workers.[3] Responsibility for transporting the textiles from Cairo to Mecca was given to a specially chosen Muslim family, for whom it was a high honour.[6] The textiles were usually cut up and distributed once replaced.