Qibla direction in João Pessoa

How to face the Qibla in João Pessoa

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 23.6° towards north: the result is the bearing of 66.4°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 24° off.

The scholars distinguish two cases: the one who sees the Kaaba aims at the building itself, while the one who cannot see it, as anywhere in João Pessoa, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of a local mosque is a quick way to confirm the result. If you travel or move house, check the angle again, since it changes from place to place.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from João Pessoa to Mecca points to 68.7° (east), 2.4° away from the correct 66.4°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 15 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 value of 66.4° is the direction in which the shortest route from 7.1150° S, 34.8631° W sets off towards the Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. Every accurate Qibla calculator, and the plans of well-oriented mosques, arrive at the same angle for this point.

Distance from João Pessoa to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 8,733 km from João Pessoa as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 8,787 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 10 h 46 min, although most pilgrims from João Pessoa connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in João Pessoa 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 João Pessoa rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in João Pessoa

On 194 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of João Pessoa while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (31 days); for example, on 15 March 2027 it happens at 10:43 local time.

On 142 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 14:50.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in João Pessoa: at 06:18 and 06:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

João Pessoa compared with other cities

Compared with Brasília, 1,718 km away, the Qibla in João Pessoa is turned 2.4° further anticlockwise (66.4° against 68.8°), and Mecca is 1,684 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Igarassu (80 km), prays towards 66.2°, 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 João Pessoa

• Igarassu66.2° · 80 km
• Recife66.2° · 104 km
• Jaboatão dos Guararapes66.2° · 112 km
• Campina Grande66.6° · 113 km
• Vitória de Santo Antão66.3° · 121 km
• Cabo de Santo Agostinho66.2° · 132 km