Qibla direction in Saurimo

How to face the Qibla in Saurimo

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 31.4° towards east: the result is the bearing of 31.4°. 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 Saurimo.

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 Saurimo, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Saurimo to Mecca points to 31.6°, only 0.2° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 31.4° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 31.4° obtained? From the coordinates of Saurimo (9.6608° S, 20.3916° 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 Saurimo to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 4,056 km from Saurimo as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,330 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 16 min, although most pilgrims from Saurimo connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Saurimo 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 Saurimo rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Saurimo

On 237 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Saurimo 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 11:46 local time.

On 128 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 12:17.

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

Saurimo compared with other cities

Compared with Luanda, 791 km away, the Qibla in Saurimo is turned 9.0° further anticlockwise (31.4° against 40.4°), and Mecca is 388 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Lucapa (143 km), prays towards 31.8°, a difference of 0.4°.

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 Saurimo

• Lucapa31.8° · 143 km
• Luena30.6° · 242 km
• Chitato32.7° · 265 km
• Malanje36.5° · 444 km
• Cuito33.8° · 484 km
• Catchiungo34.5° · 558 km