Qibla · Rajshahi Division
Qibla direction in Naogaon
To face the Kaaba in Naogaon, turn to 276.2° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (6.2° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 5,011 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Naogaon should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 276.2°, the Qibla of Naogaon. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 276° 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 Naogaon
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 6.2° towards north: the result is the bearing of 276.2°. The direction is close to due west, which makes it easy to remember.
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 Naogaon, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Naogaon 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Naogaon to Mecca points to 265.7° (west), 10.4° away from the correct 276.2°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 25 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 276.2° obtained? From the coordinates of Naogaon (24.8042° N, 88.9488° 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 Naogaon to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 5,011 km from Naogaon as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,958 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 24 min, although most pilgrims from Naogaon connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Naogaon run 3 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Naogaon rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Naogaon
On 149 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Naogaon while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (31 days); for example, on 15 April 2027 it happens at 17:37 local time.
On 207 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 May (31 days), for instance on 15 March 2027 at 06:52.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | — | — |
| 1 March 2027 | — | — |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 06:52 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 07:43 |
| 15 April 2027 | 17:37 | 08:26 |
| 1 May 2027 | 16:42 | 09:16 |
| 15 May 2027 | 15:55 | 10:00 |
| 1 June 2027 | 15:08 | 10:51 |
| 15 June 2027 | 14:44 | 11:20 |
| 1 July 2027 | 14:52 | 11:20 |
| 15 July 2027 | 15:25 | 10:51 |
| 1 August 2027 | 16:16 | 10:01 |
| 15 August 2027 | 17:00 | 09:14 |
| 1 September 2027 | 17:51 | 08:14 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 07:24 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 06:26 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Naogaon: at 15:18 and 15:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Naogaon compared with other cities
Compared with Dhaka, 191 km away, the Qibla in Naogaon is turned 1.5° further anticlockwise (276.2° against 277.7°), and Mecca is 161 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Bogura (43 km), prays towards 276.2°, a difference of 0.1°.
Across the 44 cities in Bangladesh on this site, the Qibla ranges from 274.8° in Thakurgaon to 280.1° in Cox’s Bāzār, a spread of 5.4°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Bangladesh.
Qibla in cities near Naogaon
Qibla in Naogaon: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Naogaon?
It is 276.2° from true north, which is west: 6.2° north of west.
How far is Naogaon from Mecca?
5,011 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,958 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Naogaon?
On 149 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 Naogaon not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 265.7°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Naogaon at 276.2°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 276.2° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.