Qibla direction in Tanta

How to face the Qibla in Tanta

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 42.3° towards east: the result is the bearing of 137.7°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “south” would be off by more than 40°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Tanta.

The scholars distinguish two cases: the one who sees the Kaaba aims at the building itself, while the one who cannot see it, as anywhere in Tanta, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of one of the mosques of Tanta is a quick way to confirm the result. If you travel or move house, check the angle again, since it changes from place to place.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Tanta to Mecca points to 139.8° (south-east), 2.1° away from the correct 137.7°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is not the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.

The value of 137.7° is the direction in which the shortest route from 30.7885° N, 31.0019° E sets off towards the Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. Every accurate Qibla calculator, and the plans of well-oriented mosques, arrive at the same angle for this point.

Distance from Tanta to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,363 km from Tanta as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,101 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Tanta travel to the Hijaz by road.

Clocks in Tanta 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 Tanta rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Tanta

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Tanta 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 09:10 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Tanta 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 Tanta: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Tanta compared with other cities

Compared with Cairo, 84 km away, the Qibla in Tanta is turned 1.5° further clockwise (137.7° against 136.2°), and Mecca is 75 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Al Maḩallah al Kubrá (26 km), prays towards 138.9°, a difference of 1.1°.

Across the 55 cities in Egypt on this site, the Qibla ranges from 111.3° in Aswān to 149.5° in Arish, a spread of 38.2°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Egypt.

Qibla in cities near Tanta

• Al Maḩallah al Kubrá138.9° · 26 km
• Mīt Ghamr138.4° · 26 km
• Shibīn al Kawm137.0° · 26 km
• Kafr ash Shaykh138.5° · 36 km
• Banhā137.3° · 40 km
• As Sinbillāwayn139.6° · 45 km