<P> The Kaaba is depicted on the reverse of 500 Saudi Riyal, and the 2000 Iranian rial banknotes . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The building is opened twice a year for a ceremony known as "the cleaning of the Kaaba ." This ceremony takes place approximately thirty days before the start of the month of Ramadan and thirty days before the start of Hajj . The keys to the Kaaba are held by the Banī Shayba (بني شيبة) tribe . Members of the tribe greet visitors to the inside of the Kaaba on the occasion of the cleaning ceremony . A small number of dignitaries and foreign diplomats are invited to participate in the ceremony . The governor of Mecca leads the guests who ritually clean the structure, using a broom . </P>

Before islam what was the kaaba used for