Qibla · Estado de Bahia
Qibla direction in Feira de Santana
To face the Kaaba in Feira de Santana, turn to 66.6° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-east (23.4° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 9,375 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Feira de Santana should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 66.6°, the Qibla of Feira de Santana. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 67° 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 Feira de Santana
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 23.4° towards north: the result is the bearing of 66.6°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 23° 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 Feira de Santana, 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
On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Feira de Santana to Mecca points to 66.5°, only 0.1° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 66.6° bearing remains the exact one.
How is the figure of 66.6° obtained? From the coordinates of Feira de Santana (12.2667° S, 38.9667° 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 Feira de Santana to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 9,375 km from Feira de Santana as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 9,445 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 11 h 32 min, although most pilgrims from Feira de Santana connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Feira de Santana 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 Feira de Santana rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Feira de Santana
On 206 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Feira de Santana 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 March 2027 it happens at 11:06 local time.
On 114 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 January (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 13:52.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 13:52 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 13:26 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 12:38 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 11:53 |
| 1 March 2027 | 11:06 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 10:17 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 09:18 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 08:30 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 07:36 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 06:53 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 06:25 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 07:13 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 07:54 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 08:43 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 09:22 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 10:07 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 10:48 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 11:41 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 12:27 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 13:17 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 13:49 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Feira de Santana: at 06:18 and 06:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Feira de Santana compared with other cities
Compared with Brasília, 1,043 km away, the Qibla in Feira de Santana is turned 2.2° further anticlockwise (66.6° against 68.8°), and Mecca is 1,043 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Alagoinhas (61 km), prays towards 66.5°, 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 Feira de Santana
- Alagoinhas66.5° · 61 km
- Santo Antônio de Jesus66.6° · 84 km
- Camaçari66.4° · 85 km
- Salvador66.4° · 94 km
- Lauro de Freitas66.4° · 98 km
- Lagarto66.4° · 208 km
Qibla in Feira de Santana: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Feira de Santana?
It is 66.6° from true north, which is north-east: 23.4° north of east.
How far is Feira de Santana from Mecca?
9,375 km in a straight line over the globe, and 9,445 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Feira de Santana?
On 206 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.
Is the Qibla the same everywhere in Brazil?
No. It ranges from 66.1° to 74.2° across the country, so each city has its own bearing.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 66.6° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.