Qibla direction in Petrolina

How to face the Qibla in Petrolina

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 22.8° towards north: the result is the bearing of 67.2°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 23° 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 Petrolina, 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Petrolina to Mecca points to 68.7°, only 1.5° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 67.2° bearing remains the exact one.

The value of 67.2° is the direction in which the shortest route from 9.3986° S, 40.5008° 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 Petrolina to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 9,404 km from Petrolina as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 9,455 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 11 h 34 min, although most pilgrims from Petrolina connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Petrolina 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 Petrolina rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Petrolina

On 189 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Petrolina 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 11:37 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 14:53.

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

Petrolina compared with other cities

Compared with Brasília, 1,074 km away, the Qibla in Petrolina is turned 1.6° further anticlockwise (67.2° against 68.8°), and Mecca is 1,014 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Paulo Afonso (251 km), prays towards 66.7°, a difference of 0.5°.

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 Petrolina

• Paulo Afonso66.7° · 251 km
• Juazeiro do Norte67.2° · 276 km
• Lagarto66.4° · 355 km
• Feira de Santana66.6° · 360 km
• Itabaiana66.4° · 366 km
• Alagoinhas66.5° · 380 km