Qibla · Bordj Bou Arréridj Province
Qibla direction in Bordj Bou Arreridj
To face the Kaaba in Bordj Bou Arreridj, turn to 106.0° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (16.0° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,759 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Bordj Bou Arreridj should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 106.0°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 106°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Bordj Bou Arreridj
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 16.0° towards south: the result is the bearing of 106.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 16° off.
Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. The simplest check in Bordj Bou Arreridj is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Bordj Bou Arreridj. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Bordj Bou Arreridj to Mecca points to 115.6° (south-east), 9.6° away from the correct 106.0°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 14 km longer than the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.
The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 36.0739° N, 4.7614° E to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.
Distance from Bordj Bou Arreridj to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,759 km from Bordj Bou Arreridj as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,563 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 55 min, although most pilgrims from Bordj Bou Arreridj connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Bordj Bou Arreridj run 2 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Bordj Bou Arreridj rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Bordj Bou Arreridj
On 245 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Bordj Bou Arreridj while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 1 March 2027 it happens at 07:59 local time.
On 99 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in July (31 days), for instance on 15 May 2027 at 18:41.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | — | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 07:59 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 08:23 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 08:51 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 09:14 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 09:40 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 10:01 | 18:41 |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:23 | 18:23 |
| 15 June 2027 | 10:34 | 18:17 |
| 1 July 2027 | 10:36 | 18:22 |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:27 | 18:35 |
| 1 August 2027 | 10:06 | 18:57 |
| 15 August 2027 | 09:42 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 09:07 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 08:35 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 07:59 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 07:29 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Bordj Bou Arreridj: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Bordj Bou Arreridj compared with other cities
Compared with Algiers, 167 km away, the Qibla in Bordj Bou Arreridj is turned 0.6° further clockwise (106.0° against 105.4°), and Mecca is 164 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, M'Sila (45 km), prays towards 105.3°, a difference of 0.7°.
Across the 38 cities in Algeria on this site, the Qibla ranges from 94.7° in Béchar to 110.2° in Annaba, a spread of 15.5°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Algeria.
Qibla in cities near Bordj Bou Arreridj
Qibla in Bordj Bou Arreridj: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Bordj Bou Arreridj?
It is 106.0° from true north, which is east: 16.0° south of east.
How far is Bordj Bou Arreridj from Mecca?
3,759 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,563 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Bordj Bou Arreridj?
On 245 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Why is the Qibla in Bordj Bou Arreridj not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 115.6°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Bordj Bou Arreridj at 106.0°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 106.0° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.