Qibla direction in Bilbeis

How to face the Qibla in Bilbeis

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 41.4° towards east: the result is the bearing of 138.6°. 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 Bilbeis.

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 Bilbeis, 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 Bilbeis to Mecca points to 140.5°, only 1.9° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 138.6° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 138.6° obtained? From the coordinates of Bilbeis (30.4204° N, 31.5622° 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 Bilbeis to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,297 km from Bilbeis as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,033 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Bilbeis travel to the Hijaz by road.

Clocks in Bilbeis 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 Bilbeis rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Bilbeis

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Bilbeis 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 09:12 local time.

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

Bilbeis compared with other cities

Compared with Cairo, 50 km away, the Qibla in Bilbeis is turned 2.3° further clockwise (138.6° against 136.2°), and Mecca is 9 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Zagazig (19 km), prays towards 138.9°, a difference of 0.3°.

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 Bilbeis

• Zagazig138.9° · 19 km
• Al ‘Āshir min Ramaḑān138.8° · 22 km
• Al-'Ubūr137.6° · 23 km
• Abū Kabīr139.9° · 35 km
• Banhā137.3° · 37 km
• Mīt Ghamr138.4° · 44 km