Qibla · South Australia
Qibla direction in Adelaide
To face the Kaaba in Adelaide, turn to 283.3° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (13.3° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 12,120 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Adelaide should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 283.3°, the Qibla of Adelaide. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 283° 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 Adelaide
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 13.3° towards north: the result is the bearing of 283.3°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 13° 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 Adelaide, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Adelaide 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
This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Adelaide to Mecca points to 301.0° (north-west), a full 17.6° away from the true Qibla of 283.3° (west). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 60 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Adelaide first heads west, and that is the direction to face.
How is the figure of 283.3° obtained? From the coordinates of Adelaide (34.9287° S, 138.5986° 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 Adelaide to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 12,120 km from Adelaide as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 12,311 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 14 h 46 min, although most pilgrims from Adelaide connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Adelaide run 7.5 hours ahead of Mecca in winter and 6.5 hours ahead of Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Adelaide rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Adelaide
On 225 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Adelaide 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 15:32 local time.
On 107 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 08:06.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | 15:32 | 08:06 |
| 15 January 2027 | 15:52 | 07:58 |
| 1 February 2027 | 16:23 | 07:36 |
| 15 February 2027 | 16:50 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 17:17 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 17:43 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 18:13 | — |
| 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 | 17:30 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 16:57 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 16:19 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 16:46 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 16:10 | 06:48 |
| 15 November 2027 | 15:46 | 07:14 |
| 1 December 2027 | 15:27 | 07:41 |
| 15 December 2027 | 15:22 | 07:59 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Adelaide (18:48 and 18:57 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 14 January 2027 at 07:59 and 29 November 2027 at 07:39 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Adelaide points straight to Mecca.
Adelaide compared with other cities
Compared with Canberra, 958 km away, the Qibla in Adelaide is turned 5.5° further clockwise (283.3° against 277.8°), and Mecca is 948 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Bendigo (551 km), prays towards 279.7°, a difference of 3.7°.
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 Adelaide
Qibla in Adelaide: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Adelaide?
It is 283.3° from true north, which is west: 13.3° north of west.
How far is Adelaide from Mecca?
12,120 km in a straight line over the globe, and 12,311 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Adelaide?
On 225 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 Adelaide not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 301.0°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Adelaide at 283.3°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 283.3° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.