Qibla · Estado de Bahia
Qibla direction in Paulo Afonso
To face the Kaaba in Paulo Afonso, turn to 66.7° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-east (23.3° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 9,173 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Paulo Afonso should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 66.7°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 67°; 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 Paulo Afonso
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 23.3° towards north: the result is the bearing of 66.7°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 23° off.
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. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. 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
On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Paulo Afonso to Mecca points to 68.1°, only 1.4° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 66.7° bearing remains the exact one.
The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 9.4061° S, 38.2147° W 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 Paulo Afonso to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 9,173 km from Paulo Afonso as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 9,230 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 11 h 18 min, although most pilgrims from Paulo Afonso connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Paulo Afonso 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 Paulo Afonso rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Paulo Afonso
On 197 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Paulo Afonso 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 11:28 local time.
On 129 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 14:35.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 14:35 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 14:02 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 13:07 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 12:18 |
| 1 March 2027 | 11:28 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 10:37 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 09:34 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 08:43 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 07:46 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 06:58 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 06:07 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 06:25 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 07:19 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 08:05 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 08:57 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 09:39 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 10:27 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 11:11 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 12:08 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 12:58 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 13:55 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 14:34 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Paulo Afonso: at 06:18 and 06:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Paulo Afonso compared with other cities
Compared with Brasília, 1,270 km away, the Qibla in Paulo Afonso is turned 2.0° further anticlockwise (66.7° against 68.8°), and Mecca is 1,244 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Itabaiana (166 km), prays towards 66.4°, a difference of 0.3°.
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 Paulo Afonso
Qibla in Paulo Afonso: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Paulo Afonso?
It is 66.7° from true north, which is north-east: 23.3° north of east.
How far is Paulo Afonso from Mecca?
9,173 km in a straight line over the globe, and 9,230 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Paulo Afonso?
On 197 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 66.7° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.