Qibla · Occitanie
Qibla direction in Montpellier
To face the Kaaba in Montpellier, turn to 115.0° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-east (25.0° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,126 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Montpellier should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 115.0°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 115°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Montpellier
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 25.0° towards south: the result is the bearing of 115.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 25° off.
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. The simplest check in Montpellier is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Montpellier. 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Montpellier to Mecca points to 126.5° (south-east), 11.5° away from the correct 115.0°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 21 km longer than the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.
The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 43.6109° N, 3.8764° 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 Montpellier to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,126 km from Montpellier as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,875 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 21 min, although most pilgrims from Montpellier connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Montpellier run 2 hours behind Mecca in winter and 1 hour behind 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 Montpellier rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Montpellier
On 272 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Montpellier while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 15 February 2027 it happens at 08:30 local time.
On 61 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 June (30 days), for instance on 1 June 2027 at 20:36.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 08:30 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 08:47 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 09:02 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 10:21 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 10:35 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 10:52 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:06 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:21 | 20:36 |
| 15 June 2027 | 11:29 | 20:33 |
| 1 July 2027 | 11:32 | 20:38 |
| 15 July 2027 | 11:27 | 20:47 |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:13 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 10:56 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 10:30 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 10:07 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 09:40 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 09:17 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 07:53 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Montpellier: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Montpellier compared with other cities
Compared with Paris, 595 km away, the Qibla in Montpellier is turned 4.1° further anticlockwise (115.0° against 119.2°), and Mecca is 371 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Nîmes (46 km), prays towards 115.8°, a difference of 0.8°.
Across the 37 cities in France on this site, the Qibla ranges from 111.4° in Brest, Brittany Region, France to 125.3° in Strasbourg, a spread of 13.8°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for France.
Qibla in cities near Montpellier
Qibla in Montpellier: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Montpellier?
It is 115.0° from true north, which is south-east: 25.0° south of east.
How far is Montpellier from Mecca?
4,126 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,875 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Montpellier?
On 272 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Why is the Qibla in Montpellier not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 126.5°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Montpellier at 115.0°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 115.0° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.