The historical Kaaba curtain, dating back over five centuries to the era of Sultan Selim, has been restored in the main mosque in the Turkish city of Bursa.

The Anadolu Agency reports that the Grand Mosque in Bursa, Turkey, has preserved the historical Kaaba Curtain, which dates back over five centuries to Sultan Salim's caliphate declaration. The stolen pearls were found and returned to their rightful place during the restoration process.

Levet Inan, an expert in historical textiles, has been assigned to restore the Kaaba curtain. The museum dedicated to the Bursa Mosque will showcase it once the restoration is done.

Helmi Shanly, the man in charge of the Restoration and Preservation Association for the Main Mosque in Bursa, stated, "It is important to emphasise that the claims spreading on social media about the theft of the embroidered pearls of this historical curtain are baseless."

Shanli clarified that "these pearls became detached from the fabric because of fabric deterioration." He added, "We kept these pearls separately and were searching for a specialist who could carry out the restoration correctly. Today, after restoring this historical curtain, it is exhibited in the museum."

Levet Inan, who specialises in textiles and historical fabric restoration, added, "Various techniques were used, including embroidery and thread weaving, in making this curtain."

She continued, "The red colour of the velvet fabrics deteriorates over time. We worked for a long time on restoring this curtain and used laser technology because the silver threads used in this fabric have now become very fragile. This technology is used in rare historical artworks and is also used at the Vatican Museum. It is used to detect colours without causing any damage to the fabric in any way."

It is worth mentioning that this historical curtain was exhibited in the museum in 2012. After lightly cleaning the dust, restoring the embroidered beads, and returning them to their original place, It is now displayed again in the mosque's museum.

Follow-up: Hussain Essam