Qibla direction in Dessie

How to face the Qibla in Dessie

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 1.0° towards east: the result is the bearing of 1.0°. The direction is close to due north, which makes it easy to remember.

Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Dessie to Mecca points to 1.0°, only 0.0° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 1.0° bearing remains the exact one.

The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 11.1333° N, 39.6333° E to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.

Distance from Dessie to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,144 km from Dessie as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,483 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Dessie travel to the Hijaz by road.

Clocks in Dessie 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 Dessie rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Dessie

On 126 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Dessie 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 12:18 local time.

On 237 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 12:27.

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

Dessie compared with other cities

Compared with Addis Ababa, 254 km away, the Qibla in Dessie is turned 3.7° further anticlockwise (1.0° against 4.7°), and Mecca is 239 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Weldiya (77 km), prays towards 1.3°, a difference of 0.3°.

Among the 28 cities in Ethiopia on this site, Dessie has the smallest Qibla bearing; the largest is 350.8° in Dire Dawa. Across the country the direction varies by 349.8°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Ethiopia.

Qibla in cities near Dessie

• Weldiya1.3° · 77 km
• Debre Berhan1.3° · 162 km
• Debre Tabor10.0° · 193 km
• Debre Mark’os10.0° · 225 km
• Bahir Dar13.0° · 250 km
• Addis Ababa4.7° · 254 km