Qibla direction in Luxor

How to face the Qibla in Luxor

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 31.5° towards south: the result is the bearing of 121.5°. 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 Luxor.

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 Luxor, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Luxor is a handy reference, because the 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 Luxor to Mecca points to 123.0°, only 1.5° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 121.5° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 121.5° obtained? From the coordinates of Luxor (25.6989° N, 32.6421° 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 Luxor to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 873 km from Luxor as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 715 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Luxor travel to the Hijaz by road.

Clocks in Luxor 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 Luxor rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Luxor

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Luxor 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 07:29 local time.

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

Luxor compared with other cities

Compared with Cairo, 504 km away, the Qibla in Luxor is turned 14.7° further anticlockwise (121.5° against 136.2°), and Mecca is 415 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Esna (46 km), prays towards 118.6°, a difference of 2.9°.

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 Luxor

• Esna118.6° · 46 km
• Qina124.6° · 52 km
• Jirja122.5° · 103 km
• Sohag122.9° · 134 km
• Kom Ombo114.4° · 139 km
• Ţahţā123.4° · 165 km