Tapestries embroidered with Quranic verses were shipped from the Kaaba in Mecca, Islam’s holiest shrine. Tiles came from a mosque in Uzbekistan. A golden metal dome was made to replicate the architecture of ancient Syria.
Jeffrey Epstein spent years making connections across the Middle East, in pursuit of business deals and two intertwined hobbies: acquiring rare Islamic artifacts with which to decorate an unusual building on his private island, and expanding his network of wealthy, powerful people.
Through connections that extended into the royal court of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Epstein secured a meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, now the Saudi crown prince, and also obtained elaborate tapestries that once adorned the sacred spaces inside the Kaaba and covered its exterior walls.
Mr. Epstein’s dual passions were encapsulated in a single photo from 2014. In it, he poses with Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, a prominent Emirati executive, as they admire one such tapestry splayed on the floor of Mr. Epstein’s New York townhouse. Like others in Mr. Epstein’s orbit, Mr. bin Sulayem was ultimately brought down by his association. Earlier this year, he was forced to resign as the head of DP World, a Dubai ports company.
