Qibla direction in Coatepeque

How to face the Qibla in Coatepeque

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 36.3° towards north: the result is the bearing of 53.7°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Coatepeque.

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 Coatepeque, 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

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Coatepeque to Mecca points to 86.9° (east), a full 33.2° away from the true Qibla of 53.7° (north-east). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 543 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Coatepeque first heads north-east, and that is the direction to face.

How is the figure of 53.7° obtained? From the coordinates of Coatepeque (14.7041° N, 91.8643° W) 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 Coatepeque to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 13,389 km from Coatepeque as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 13,182 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 16 h 15 min, although most pilgrims from Coatepeque connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Coatepeque run 9 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Coatepeque rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Coatepeque

On 105 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Coatepeque 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 12:02 local time.

On 260 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 15:35.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Coatepeque (03:18 and 03:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 13 January 2027 at 15:29 and 28 November 2027 at 15:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Coatepeque points straight to Mecca.

Coatepeque compared with other cities

Compared with Guatemala City, 145 km away, the Qibla in Coatepeque is turned 0.8° further anticlockwise (53.7° against 54.5°), and Mecca is 114 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Quetzaltenango (40 km), prays towards 53.8°, a difference of 0.1°.

Among the 14 cities in Guatemala on this site, Coatepeque has the smallest Qibla bearing; the largest is 55.1° in Puerto Barrios. Across the country the direction varies by 1.4°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Guatemala.

Qibla in cities near Coatepeque

• Quetzaltenango53.8° · 40 km
• Totonicapán53.9° · 59 km
• Chichicastenango54.0° · 85 km
• Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa54.4° · 99 km
• Escuintla54.5° · 124 km
• San Juan Sacatepéquez54.4° · 131 km