Qibla direction in Orsha

How to face the Qibla in Orsha

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 15.9° towards east: the result is the bearing of 164.1°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 16° 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 Orsha, 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

A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Orsha to Mecca points to 167.7° (south), 3.6° away from the correct 164.1°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 2 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 164.1° is the direction in which the shortest route from 54.5136° N, 30.4037° 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 Orsha to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 3,764 km from Orsha as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,427 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 56 min, although most pilgrims from Orsha connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Orsha run the same time as Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Orsha rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Orsha

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Orsha 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 11:54 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Orsha during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Orsha: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Orsha compared with other cities

Compared with Minsk, 197 km away, the Qibla in Orsha is turned 4.9° further clockwise (164.1° against 159.2°), and Mecca is 7 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Mogilev (67 km), prays towards 163.8°, a difference of 0.4°.

Across the 13 cities in Belarus on this site, the Qibla ranges from 151.8° in Brest, Brest Oblast, Belarus to 164.2° in Homyel, a spread of 12.4°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Belarus.

Qibla in cities near Orsha

• Mogilev163.8° · 67 km
• Vitebsk164.1° · 76 km
• Borisov160.9° · 127 km
• Babruysk161.5° · 171 km
• Minsk159.2° · 197 km
• Homyel164.2° · 234 km