Qibla · Central Java
Qibla direction in Jepara
To face the Kaaba in Jepara, turn to 294.3° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-west (24.3° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 8,322 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Jepara should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 294.3°, the Qibla of Jepara. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 294° 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 Jepara
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 24.3° towards north: the result is the bearing of 294.3°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 24° 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 Jepara, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Jepara is a handy reference, because the 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 Jepara to Mecca points to 291.9° (west), 2.4° away from the correct 294.3°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 13 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 294.3° obtained? From the coordinates of Jepara (6.5924° S, 110.6710° 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 Jepara to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 8,322 km from Jepara as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 8,424 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 10 h 17 min, although most pilgrims from Jepara connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Jepara run 4 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Jepara rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Jepara
On 219 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Jepara 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 15 March 2027 it happens at 12:24 local time.
On 144 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 08:18.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 08:18 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 09:01 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 10:03 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 10:53 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 11:40 |
| 15 March 2027 | 12:24 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 13:17 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 14:00 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 14:51 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 15:37 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 16:30 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 17:00 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 16:59 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 16:29 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 15:36 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 14:48 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 13:47 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 12:56 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 11:58 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 11:07 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 10:06 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 09:19 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 08:31 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 08:05 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Jepara: at 16:18 and 16:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Jepara compared with other cities
Compared with Jakarta, 425 km away, the Qibla in Jepara is turned 0.8° further anticlockwise (294.3° against 295.2°), and Mecca is 402 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Pati (44 km), prays towards 294.3°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.
Across the 140 cities in Indonesia on this site, the Qibla ranges from 290.2° in Merauke to 295.5° in Pelabuhanratu, a spread of 5.3°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Indonesia.
Qibla in cities near Jepara
Qibla in Jepara: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Jepara?
It is 294.3° from true north, which is north-west: 24.3° north of west.
How far is Jepara from Mecca?
8,322 km in a straight line over the globe, and 8,424 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Jepara?
On 219 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.
Is the Qibla the same everywhere in Indonesia?
No. It ranges from 290.2° to 295.5° across the country, so each city has its own bearing.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 294.3° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.