Qibla direction in Nicosia

How to face the Qibla in Nicosia

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 24.1° towards east: the result is the bearing of 155.9°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 24° off.

Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. The simplest check in Nicosia is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Nicosia. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Nicosia to Mecca points to 157.6°, only 1.7° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 155.9° bearing remains the exact one.

The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 35.1728° N, 33.3540° E to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.

Distance from Nicosia to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,654 km from Nicosia as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,334 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 27 min, although most pilgrims from Nicosia connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Nicosia run 1 hour behind Mecca in winter and the same time as Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Nicosia rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Nicosia

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Nicosia 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 10:17 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Nicosia during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Nicosia: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Nicosia compared with other cities

The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Limassol (62 km), prays towards 154.0°, a difference of 1.9°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Cyprus.

Qibla in cities near Nicosia

• Limassol154.0° · 62 km