Qibla · Queensland
Qibla direction in Gold Coast
To face the Kaaba in Gold Coast, turn to 279.8° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (9.8° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 13,348 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Gold Coast should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 279.8°, the Qibla of Gold Coast. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 280° 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 Gold Coast
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 9.8° towards north: the result is the bearing of 279.8°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 10° 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 Gold Coast, 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Gold Coast to Mecca points to 294.2° (north-west), 14.4° away from the correct 279.8°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 43 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 279.8° obtained? From the coordinates of Gold Coast (28.0003° S, 153.4309° 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 Gold Coast to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 13,348 km from Gold Coast as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 13,484 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 16 h 12 min, although most pilgrims from Gold Coast connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Gold Coast run 7 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Gold Coast rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Gold Coast
On 214 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Gold Coast while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in January (31 days); for example, on 1 January 2027 it happens at 13:14 local time.
On 125 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 07:43.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | 13:14 | 07:43 |
| 15 January 2027 | 13:42 | 07:28 |
| 1 February 2027 | 14:27 | 06:52 |
| 15 February 2027 | 15:05 | 06:15 |
| 1 March 2027 | 15:43 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 16:19 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 17:01 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | — | — |
| 1 May 2027 | — | — |
| 15 May 2027 | — | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | — | — |
| 1 August 2027 | — | — |
| 15 August 2027 | — | — |
| 1 September 2027 | — | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 16:43 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 15:53 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 15:11 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 14:22 | 05:55 |
| 15 November 2027 | 13:46 | 06:33 |
| 1 December 2027 | 13:15 | 07:13 |
| 15 December 2027 | 13:03 | 07:37 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Gold Coast (19:18 and 19:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 14 January 2027 at 07:29 and 29 November 2027 at 07:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Gold Coast points straight to Mecca.
Gold Coast compared with other cities
Compared with Canberra, 906 km away, the Qibla in Gold Coast is turned 2.0° further clockwise (279.8° against 277.8°), and Mecca is 279 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Logan City (51 km), prays towards 280.1°, a difference of 0.3°.
Across the 21 cities in Australia on this site, the Qibla ranges from 275.0° in Hobart to 295.5° in Mandurah, a spread of 20.5°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Australia.
Qibla in cities near Gold Coast
- Logan City280.1° · 51 km
- Brisbane280.3° · 71 km
- Toowoomba280.6° · 153 km
- Sunshine Coast280.7° · 153 km
- Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia277.7° · 570 km
- Central Coast277.7° · 635 km
Qibla in Gold Coast: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Gold Coast?
It is 279.8° from true north, which is west: 9.8° north of west.
How far is Gold Coast from Mecca?
13,348 km in a straight line over the globe, and 13,484 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Gold Coast?
On 214 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 Gold Coast not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 294.2°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Gold Coast at 279.8°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 279.8° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.