Qibla direction in Caála

How to face the Qibla in Caála

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 35.1° towards east: the result is the bearing of 35.1°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “north” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Caála.

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. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Caála to Mecca points to 34.8°, only 0.3° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 35.1° bearing remains the exact one.

The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 12.8525° S, 15.5606° 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 Caála to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 4,641 km from Caála as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,903 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 58 min, although most pilgrims from Caála connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Caála 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 Caála rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Caála

On 255 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Caála 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 15 February 2027 it happens at 12:11 local time.

On 110 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 January (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 12:32.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Caála: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Caála compared with other cities

Compared with Luanda, 514 km away, the Qibla in Caála is turned 5.4° further anticlockwise (35.1° against 40.4°), and Mecca is 198 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Huambo (21 km), prays towards 34.9°, a difference of 0.2°.

Across the 30 cities in Angola on this site, the Qibla ranges from 30.6° in Luena to 44.2° in Cabinda, a spread of 13.6°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Angola.

Qibla in cities near Caála

• Huambo34.9° · 21 km
• Catchiungo34.5° · 79 km
• Balombo36.3° · 102 km
• Cuito33.8° · 158 km
• Bocoio36.9° · 160 km
• Lobito37.6° · 226 km