Qibla direction in Saidpur

How to face the Qibla in Saidpur

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 5.2° towards north: the result is the bearing of 275.2°. The direction is close to due west, which makes it easy to remember.

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 Saidpur, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of one of the mosques of Saidpur 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

A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Saidpur to Mecca points to 264.5° (west), 10.7° away from the correct 275.2°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 26 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.

The value of 275.2° is the direction in which the shortest route from 25.7777° N, 88.8917° E 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 Saidpur to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 4,995 km from Saidpur as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,934 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 23 min, although most pilgrims from Saidpur connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Saidpur 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 Saidpur rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Saidpur

On 152 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Saidpur 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 17:30 local time.

On 201 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 06:42.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Saidpur: at 15:18 and 15:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Saidpur compared with other cities

Compared with Dhaka, 276 km away, the Qibla in Saidpur is turned 2.5° further anticlockwise (275.2° against 277.7°), and Mecca is 178 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Dinajpur (30 km), prays towards 275.2°, 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 Saidpur

• Dinajpur275.2° · 30 km
• Rangpur City275.3° · 36 km
• Thakurgaon274.8° · 51 km
• Shibganj276.1° · 97 km
• Mohammadpur275.9° · 104 km
• Naogaon276.2° · 108 km