Qibla direction in St John's

How to face the Qibla in St John's

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 23.9° towards north: the result is the bearing of 66.1°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 24° off.

The scholars distinguish two cases: the one who sees the Kaaba aims at the building itself, while the one who cannot see it, as anywhere in St John's, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of a local mosque is a quick way to confirm the result. If you travel or move house, check the angle again, since it changes from place to place.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from St John's to Mecca points to 87.4° (east), a full 21.4° away from the true Qibla of 66.1° (north-east). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 210 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from St John's first heads north-east, and that is the direction to face.

The value of 66.1° is the direction in which the shortest route from 17.1210° N, 61.8433° W sets off towards the Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. Every accurate Qibla calculator, and the plans of well-oriented mosques, arrive at the same angle for this point.

Distance from St John's to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 10,469 km from St John's as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 10,331 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 12 h 49 min, although most pilgrims from St John's connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in St John's run 7 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of St John's rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in St John's

On 87 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of St John's while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in July (31 days); for example, on 15 May 2027 it happens at 11:46 local time.

On 229 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 March (31 days), for instance on 15 January 2027 at 17:26.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in St John's (05:18 and 05:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 13 January 2027 at 17:29 and 28 November 2027 at 17:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in St John's points straight to Mecca.

St John's compared with other cities

See all cities on the Qibla page for Antigua and Barbuda.