Qibla direction in Itanhaém

How to face the Qibla in Itanhaém

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 20.9° towards north: the result is the bearing of 69.1°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 21° 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 Itanhaém, 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 Itanhaém to Mecca points to 61.6° (north-east), 7.5° away from the correct 69.1°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 12 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 69.1° is the direction in which the shortest route from 24.1831° S, 46.7889° 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 Itanhaém to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 10,642 km from Itanhaém as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 10,758 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 13 h 01 min, although most pilgrims from Itanhaém connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Itanhaém 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 Itanhaém rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Itanhaém

On 280 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Itanhaém while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in January (31 days); for example, on 1 January 2027 it happens at 11:57 local time.

On 57 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 18:09.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Itanhaém (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 Itanhaém points straight to Mecca.

Itanhaém compared with other cities

The Qibla here is practically the same as in Brasília (68.8°), and Mecca is 225 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Santos (52 km), prays towards 68.9°, a difference of 0.2°.

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 Itanhaém

• Santos68.9° · 52 km
• São Bernardo do Campo68.9° · 59 km
• Ribeirão Pires68.9° · 65 km
• Cotia69.0° · 66 km
• Osasco69.0° · 72 km
• São Paulo68.9° · 72 km