Qibla · Mascara Province
Qibla direction in Mascara
To face the Kaaba in Mascara, turn to 101.2° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (11.2° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,147 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Mascara should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 101.2°, the Qibla of Mascara. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 101° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Mascara
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 11.2° towards south: the result is the bearing of 101.2°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 11° off.
Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Mascara, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Mascara is a handy reference, because the prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Mascara to Mecca points to 111.9° (east), 10.7° away from the correct 101.2°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 20 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.
How is the figure of 101.2° obtained? From the coordinates of Mascara (35.3966° N, 0.1403° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.
Distance from Mascara to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,147 km from Mascara as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,963 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 23 min, although most pilgrims from Mascara connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Mascara 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 Mascara rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Mascara
On 220 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Mascara while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (31 days); for example, on 15 March 2027 it happens at 08:12 local time.
On 129 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 May (31 days), for instance on 1 May 2027 at 18:47.
| 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 | — | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 08:12 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 08:43 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 09:08 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 09:36 | 18:47 |
| 15 May 2027 | 09:59 | 18:22 |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:23 | 18:02 |
| 15 June 2027 | 10:35 | 17:55 |
| 1 July 2027 | 10:37 | 18:00 |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:27 | 18:14 |
| 1 August 2027 | 10:04 | 18:39 |
| 15 August 2027 | 09:37 | 19:02 |
| 1 September 2027 | 09:00 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 08:26 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 07:48 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | — | — |
| 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 Mascara: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Mascara compared with other cities
Compared with Algiers, 304 km away, the Qibla in Mascara is turned 4.3° further anticlockwise (101.2° against 105.4°), and Mecca is 224 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Relizane (53 km), prays towards 101.9°, a difference of 0.8°.
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 Mascara
- Relizane101.9° · 53 km
- Mostaganem101.8° · 60 km
- Saida100.4° · 63 km
- Sidi Bel Abbes100.3° · 74 km
- Oran100.9° · 78 km
- Tiaret102.1° · 107 km
Qibla in Mascara: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Mascara?
It is 101.2° from true north, which is east: 11.2° south of east.
How far is Mascara from Mecca?
4,147 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,963 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Mascara?
On 220 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 Mascara not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 111.9°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Mascara at 101.2°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 101.2° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.