Qibla · Occitanie
Qibla direction in Perpignan
To face the Kaaba in Perpignan, turn to 112.9° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-east (22.9° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,157 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Perpignan should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 112.9°, the Qibla of Perpignan. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 113° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Perpignan
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 22.9° towards south: the result is the bearing of 112.9°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 23° 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 Perpignan, 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Perpignan to Mecca points to 124.5° (south-east), 11.6° away from the correct 112.9°. 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.
How is the figure of 112.9° obtained? From the coordinates of Perpignan (42.6976° N, 2.8954° 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 Perpignan to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,157 km from Perpignan as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,915 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 23 min, although most pilgrims from Perpignan connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Perpignan 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 Perpignan rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Perpignan
On 263 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Perpignan 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 08:22 local time.
On 73 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 20:26.
| 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 | 08:22 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 08:40 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 08:57 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 10:17 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 10:33 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 10:51 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:06 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:21 | 20:26 |
| 15 June 2027 | 11:30 | 20:23 |
| 1 July 2027 | 11:32 | 20:28 |
| 15 July 2027 | 11:27 | 20:37 |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:12 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 10:54 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 10:27 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 10:03 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 09:34 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 09:10 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 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 Perpignan: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Perpignan compared with other cities
Compared with Paris, 686 km away, the Qibla in Perpignan is turned 6.3° further anticlockwise (112.9° against 119.2°), and Mecca is 339 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Montpellier (129 km), prays towards 115.0°, a difference of 2.2°.
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 Perpignan
- Montpellier115.0° · 129 km
- Toulouse112.4° · 155 km
- Nîmes115.8° · 173 km
- Marseille116.3° · 213 km
- Aix-en-Provence116.7° · 227 km
- Toulon116.7° · 252 km
Qibla in Perpignan: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Perpignan?
It is 112.9° from true north, which is south-east: 22.9° south of east.
How far is Perpignan from Mecca?
4,157 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,915 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Perpignan?
On 263 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 Perpignan not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 124.5°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Perpignan at 112.9°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 112.9° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.