Qibla direction in Petrópolis

How to face the Qibla in Petrópolis

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 22.4° towards north: the result is the bearing of 67.6°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 22° 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 Petrópolis, 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 Petrópolis to Mecca points to 61.5° (north-east), 6.1° away from the correct 67.6°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 9 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 67.6° is the direction in which the shortest route from 22.5050° S, 43.1786° 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 Petrópolis to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 10,231 km from Petrópolis as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 10,345 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 12 h 32 min, although most pilgrims from Petrópolis connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Petrópolis 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 Petrópolis rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Petrópolis

On 263 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Petrópolis 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 15 January 2027 it happens at 11:48 local time.

On 41 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 December (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 12:01.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Petrópolis (06:18 and 06:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 13 January 2027 at 18:29 and 28 November 2027 at 18:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Petrópolis points straight to Mecca.

Petrópolis compared with other cities

Compared with Brasília, 899 km away, the Qibla in Petrópolis is turned 1.2° further anticlockwise (67.6° against 68.8°), and Mecca is 186 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Magé (22 km), prays towards 67.6°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.

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 Petrópolis

• Magé67.6° · 22 km
• Teresópolis67.5° · 23 km
• Duque de Caxias67.7° · 34 km
• São Gonçalo67.6° · 38 km
• Itaboraí67.5° · 42 km
• Rio de Janeiro67.6° · 45 km