Qibla · Littoral Province
Qibla direction in Douala
To face the Kaaba in Douala, turn to 56.6° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-east (33.4° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,781 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Douala should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 56.6°, the Qibla of Douala. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 57° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Douala
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 33.4° towards north: the result is the bearing of 56.6°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Douala.
Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Douala, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Douala to Mecca points to 59.3° (north-east), 2.6° away from the correct 56.6°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 2 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.
How is the figure of 56.6° obtained? From the coordinates of Douala (4.0483° N, 9.7043° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.
Distance from Douala to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,781 km from Douala as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,924 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 57 min, although most pilgrims from Douala connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Douala run 2 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Douala rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Douala
On 166 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Douala 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 1 April 2027 it happens at 12:22 local time.
On 199 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 15:28.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 15:28 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 15:17 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 14:49 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 14:19 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 13:44 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 13:07 |
| 1 April 2027 | 12:22 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 11:46 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:07 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 10:38 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:13 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 10:04 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 10:09 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:26 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 10:55 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:22 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 11:55 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 12:23 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 12:55 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 13:24 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 14:01 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 14:31 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 15:03 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 15:22 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Douala: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Douala compared with other cities
Compared with Yaoundé, 202 km away, the Qibla in Douala is turned 1.6° further clockwise (56.6° against 55.0°), and Mecca is 155 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Buea (53 km), prays towards 57.1°, a difference of 0.5°.
Across the 14 cities in Cameroon on this site, the Qibla ranges from 54.1° in Bertoua to 63.0° in Maroua, a spread of 8.9°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Cameroon.
Qibla in cities near Douala
Qibla in Douala: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Douala?
It is 56.6° from true north, which is north-east: 33.4° north of east.
How far is Douala from Mecca?
3,781 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,924 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Douala?
On 166 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 Cameroon?
No. It ranges from 54.1° to 63.0° across the country, so each city has its own bearing.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 56.6° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.