Qibla direction in Batumi

How to face the Qibla in Batumi

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 4.9° towards west: the result is the bearing of 184.9°. The direction is close to due south, which makes it easy to remember.

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 Batumi, 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 Batumi to Mecca points to 184.3°, only 0.5° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 184.9° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 184.9° obtained? From the coordinates of Batumi (41.6408° N, 41.6306° 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 Batumi to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,255 km from Batumi as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,919 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 3 h 09 min, although most pilgrims from Batumi connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Batumi run 1 hour ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Batumi rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Batumi

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Batumi 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 13:36 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Batumi 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 Batumi: at 13:18 and 13:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Batumi compared with other cities

Compared with Tbilisi, 266 km away, the Qibla in Batumi is turned 8.4° further anticlockwise (184.9° against 193.3°), and Mecca is 48 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Kutaisi (112 km), prays towards 187.5°, a difference of 2.6°.

Among the 4 cities in Georgia on this site, Batumi has the smallest Qibla bearing; the largest is 193.7° in Rustavi. Across the country the direction varies by 8.9°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Georgia.

Qibla in cities near Batumi

• Kutaisi187.5° · 112 km
• Tbilisi193.3° · 266 km
• Rustavi193.7° · 279 km