Qibla · West Region
Qibla direction in Foumban
To face the Kaaba in Foumban, turn to 57.9° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-east (32.1° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,569 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Foumban should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 57.9°, the Qibla of Foumban. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 58° 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 Foumban
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 32.1° towards north: the result is the bearing of 57.9°. 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 Foumban.
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 Foumban, 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 Foumban to Mecca points to 60.7° (north-east), 2.8° away from the correct 57.9°. 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 57.9° obtained? From the coordinates of Foumban (5.7266° N, 10.8987° 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 Foumban to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,569 km from Foumban as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,705 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 42 min, although most pilgrims from Foumban connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Foumban 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 Foumban rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Foumban
On 156 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Foumban 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 April 2027 it happens at 11:50 local time.
On 207 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 15:43.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 15:43 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 15:31 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 15:01 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 14:29 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 13:53 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 13:15 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 12:28 |
| 15 April 2027 | 11:50 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:10 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 10:39 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:13 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 10:03 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 10:08 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:26 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 10:56 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:25 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:00 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 12:29 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 13:02 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 13:33 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 14:12 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 14:44 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 15:17 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 15:37 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Foumban: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Foumban compared with other cities
Compared with Yaoundé, 218 km away, the Qibla in Foumban is turned 2.9° further clockwise (57.9° against 55.0°), and Mecca is 57 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Kumbo (59 km), prays towards 58.7°, a difference of 0.8°.
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 Foumban
Qibla in Foumban: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Foumban?
It is 57.9° from true north, which is north-east: 32.1° north of east.
How far is Foumban from Mecca?
3,569 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,705 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Foumban?
On 156 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 57.9° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.