Qibla · Ceará
Qibla direction in Sobral
To face the Kaaba in Sobral, turn to 67.8° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (22.2° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 9,145 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Sobral should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 67.8°, the Qibla of Sobral. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 68° 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 Sobral
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 22.2° towards north: the result is the bearing of 67.8°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 22° off.
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 Sobral, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its 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 Sobral to Mecca points to 72.3° (east), 4.5° away from the correct 67.8°. 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 67.8° obtained? From the coordinates of Sobral (3.6861° S, 40.3497° W) 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 Sobral to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 9,145 km from Sobral as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 9,166 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 11 h 16 min, although most pilgrims from Sobral connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Sobral run 6 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Sobral rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Sobral
On 160 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Sobral while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in August (31 days); for example, on 15 March 2027 it happens at 11:35 local time.
On 128 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 November (30 days), for instance on 15 January 2027 at 15:48.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 15:48 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 14:30 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 13:30 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 12:32 |
| 15 March 2027 | 11:35 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 10:25 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 09:27 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 08:20 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 07:20 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 06:23 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 07:45 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 08:42 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 09:44 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 10:32 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 11:27 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 12:17 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 13:24 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 14:26 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 15:56 |
| 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 Sobral: at 06:18 and 06:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Sobral compared with other cities
Compared with Brasília, 1,580 km away, the Qibla in Sobral is turned 1.0° further anticlockwise (67.8° against 68.8°), and Mecca is 1,272 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Itapipoca (88 km), prays towards 67.7°, a difference of 0.1°.
Across the 257 cities in Brazil on this site, the Qibla ranges from 66.1° in Maceió to 74.2° in Uruguaiana, a spread of 8.1°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Brazil.
Qibla in cities near Sobral
Qibla in Sobral: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Sobral?
It is 67.8° from true north, which is east: 22.2° north of east.
How far is Sobral from Mecca?
9,145 km in a straight line over the globe, and 9,166 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Sobral?
On 160 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 Sobral not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 72.3°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Sobral at 67.8°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 67.8° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.