Qibla direction in Debre Mark’os

How to face the Qibla in Debre Mark’os

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 10.0° towards east: the result is the bearing of 10.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at north would leave you about 10° off.

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 Debre Mark’os, 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 Debre Mark’os to Mecca points to 10.3°, only 0.3° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 10.0° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 10.0° obtained? From the coordinates of Debre Mark’os (10.3500° N, 37.7333° 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 Debre Mark’os to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,251 km from Debre Mark’os as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,582 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Debre Mark’os travel to the Hijaz by road.

Clocks in Debre Mark’os run the same time as Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Debre Mark’os rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Debre Mark’os

On 132 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Debre Mark’os 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 1 May 2027 it happens at 12:23 local time.

On 233 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 12:57.

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

Debre Mark’os compared with other cities

Compared with Addis Ababa, 185 km away, the Qibla in Debre Mark’os is turned 5.4° further clockwise (10.0° against 4.7°), and Mecca is 132 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Bahir Dar (143 km), prays towards 13.0°, a difference of 3.0°.

Across the 28 cities in Ethiopia on this site, the Qibla ranges from 1.0° in Dessie to 350.8° in Dire Dawa, a spread of 349.8°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Ethiopia.

Qibla in cities near Debre Mark’os

• Bahir Dar13.0° · 143 km
• Debre Tabor10.0° · 170 km
• Addis Ababa4.7° · 185 km
• Sebeta5.2° · 186 km
• Nek’emtē14.0° · 191 km
• Debre Berhan1.3° · 211 km