Qibla · Baranya
Qibla direction in Pécs
To face the Kaaba in Pécs, turn to 137.2° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-east (42.8° east of south). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,368 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Pécs should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 137.2°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 137°; 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 Pécs
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 42.8° towards east: the result is the bearing of 137.2°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “south” would be off by more than 40°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Pécs.
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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Pécs to Mecca points to 144.3° (south-east), 7.1° away from the correct 137.2°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 6 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 46.0762° N, 18.2281° 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 Pécs to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,368 km from Pécs as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,068 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 28 min, although most pilgrims from Pécs connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Pécs 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 Pécs rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Pécs
On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Pécs 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 08:43 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Pécs during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | 08:43 | — |
| 15 January 2027 | 08:54 | — |
| 1 February 2027 | 09:08 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 09:19 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 09:28 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 09:37 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 10:46 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 10:53 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:02 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:11 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:20 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 11:26 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 11:29 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 11:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:19 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:08 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 10:50 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 10:34 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 10:15 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 10:00 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 08:44 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 08:36 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | 08:32 | — |
| 15 December 2027 | 08:34 | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Pécs: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Pécs compared with other cities
Compared with Budapest, 170 km away, the Qibla in Pécs is turned 2.9° further anticlockwise (137.2° against 140.1°), and Mecca is 78 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Székesfehérvár (125 km), prays towards 138.7°, a difference of 1.5°.
Among the 9 cities in Hungary on this site, Pécs has the smallest Qibla bearing; the largest is 144.9° in Nyíregyháza. Across the country the direction varies by 7.7°.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Hungary.
Qibla in cities near Pécs
Qibla in Pécs: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Pécs?
It is 137.2° from true north, which is south-east: 42.8° east of south.
How far is Pécs from Mecca?
3,368 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,068 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Pécs?
On 365 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 Pécs not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 144.3°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Pécs at 137.2°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 137.2° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.