Qibla · Flemish Region
Qibla direction in Ghent
To face the Kaaba in Ghent, turn to 122.9° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-east (32.9° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,538 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Ghent should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 122.9°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 123°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Ghent
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 32.9° towards south: the result is the bearing of 122.9°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Ghent.
Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. The simplest check in Ghent is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Ghent. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Ghent to Mecca points to 136.2° (south-east), 13.2° away from the correct 122.9°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 28 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 angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 51.0500° N, 3.7167° E to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.
Distance from Ghent to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,538 km from Ghent as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,250 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 50 min, although most pilgrims from Ghent connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Ghent run 2 hours behind Mecca in winter and 1 hour behind 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 Ghent rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Ghent
On 283 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Ghent while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 1 February 2027 it happens at 08:54 local time.
On 19 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 June (19 days), for instance on 15 June 2027 at 21:23.
| 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 | 08:54 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 09:06 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 09:18 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 09:28 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 10:39 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 10:49 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:00 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:10 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:20 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 11:27 | 21:23 |
| 1 July 2027 | 11:30 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 11:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:17 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:05 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 10:45 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 10:27 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 10:06 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 09:49 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 08:31 | — |
| 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 Ghent: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Ghent compared with other cities
Compared with Brussels, 50 km away, the Qibla in Ghent is turned 0.6° further anticlockwise (122.9° against 123.5°), and Mecca is 49 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Bruges (39 km), prays towards 122.5°, a difference of 0.4°.
Across the 8 cities in Belgium on this site, the Qibla ranges from 122.5° in Bruges to 124.7° in Liège, a spread of 2.2°. The difference is small, yet each city should still use its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Belgium.
Qibla in cities near Ghent
Qibla in Ghent: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Ghent?
It is 122.9° from true north, which is south-east: 32.9° south of east.
How far is Ghent from Mecca?
4,538 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,250 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Ghent?
On 283 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 Ghent not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 136.2°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Ghent at 122.9°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 122.9° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.