Qibla direction in Banja Luka

How to face the Qibla in Banja Luka

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 44.0° towards south: the result is the bearing of 134.0°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 40°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Banja Luka.

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 Banja Luka, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Banja Luka 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 Banja Luka to Mecca points to 141.3° (south-east), 7.3° away from the correct 134.0°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 7 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 134.0° obtained? From the coordinates of Banja Luka (44.7788° N, 17.2063° 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 Banja Luka to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 3,321 km from Banja Luka as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,030 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 24 min, although most pilgrims from Banja Luka connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Banja Luka 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 Banja Luka rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Banja Luka

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Banja Luka 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 08:32 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Banja Luka 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 Banja Luka: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Banja Luka compared with other cities

Compared with Sarajevo, 138 km away, the Qibla in Banja Luka is turned 0.6° further anticlockwise (134.0° against 134.7°), and Mecca is 138 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Zenica (85 km), prays towards 134.4°, a difference of 0.4°.

Across the 5 cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina on this site, the Qibla ranges from 133.1° in Mostar to 136.1° in Tuzla, a spread of 2.9°. The difference is small, yet each city should still use its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Qibla in cities near Banja Luka

• Zenica134.4° · 85 km
• Tuzla136.1° · 119 km
• Sarajevo134.7° · 138 km
• Mostar133.1° · 167 km