Qibla direction in Tshikapa

How to face the Qibla in Tshikapa

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 33.3° towards east: the result is the bearing of 33.3°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “north” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Tshikapa.

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 Tshikapa, 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 Tshikapa to Mecca points to 33.8°, only 0.5° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 33.3° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 33.3° obtained? From the coordinates of Tshikapa (6.4162° S, 20.8000° 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 Tshikapa to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 3,727 km from Tshikapa as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,993 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 53 min, although most pilgrims from Tshikapa connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Tshikapa run 1 hour behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Tshikapa rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Tshikapa

On 219 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Tshikapa 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 March 2027 it happens at 12:35 local time.

On 145 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 13:28.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Tshikapa: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Tshikapa compared with other cities

Compared with Kinshasa, 650 km away, the Qibla in Tshikapa is turned 8.7° further anticlockwise (33.3° against 42.1°), and Mecca is 188 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Kananga (188 km), prays towards 31.5°, a difference of 1.8°.

Across the 37 cities in the DR Congo on this site, the Qibla ranges from 20.2° in Lubumbashi to 45.4° in Gemena, a spread of 25.2°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for DR Congo.

Qibla in cities near Tshikapa

• Kananga31.5° · 188 km
• Ilebo35.5° · 233 km
• Kikwit37.2° · 267 km
• Mwene-Ditu29.1° · 300 km
• Mbuji-Mayi29.6° · 310 km
• Gandajika28.6° · 350 km