Qibla direction in Bangui

How to face the Qibla in Bangui

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 41.4° towards north: the result is the bearing of 48.6°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 40°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Bangui.

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 Bangui, 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Bangui to Mecca points to 50.4°, only 1.9° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 48.6° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 48.6° obtained? From the coordinates of Bangui (4.3612° N, 18.5550° 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 Bangui to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,978 km from Bangui as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,174 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h, although most pilgrims from Bangui connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Bangui 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 Bangui rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Bangui

On 164 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Bangui 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 11:49 local time.

On 201 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 14:03.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Bangui: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Bangui compared with other cities

The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Bimbo (19 km), prays towards 48.6°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.

Among the 4 cities in the Central African Republic on this site, Bangui has the smallest Qibla bearing; the largest is 52.4° in Carnot. Across the country the direction varies by 3.9°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Central African Republic.

Qibla in cities near Bangui

• Bimbo48.6° · 19 km
• Carnot52.4° · 304 km
• Berbérati51.5° · 307 km