Qibla · Maluku
Qibla direction in Ambon City
To face the Kaaba in Ambon City, turn to 291.5° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (21.5° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 9,988 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Ambon City should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 291.5°, the Qibla of Ambon City. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 291° 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 Ambon City
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 21.5° towards north: the result is the bearing of 291.5°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 21° 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 Ambon City, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Ambon City 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 Ambon City to Mecca points to 286.2° (west), 5.3° away from the correct 291.5°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 35 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 291.5° obtained? From the coordinates of Ambon City (3.6958° S, 128.1833° 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 Ambon City to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 9,988 km from Ambon City as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 10,033 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 12 h 15 min, although most pilgrims from Ambon City connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Ambon City run 6 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Ambon City rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Ambon City
On 152 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Ambon City while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in August (31 days); for example, on 15 March 2027 it happens at 12:51 local time.
On 119 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 November (30 days), for instance on 15 January 2027 at 08:09.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 08:09 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 09:55 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 11:00 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 11:58 |
| 15 March 2027 | 12:51 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 13:53 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 14:46 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 15:50 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 16:55 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | — | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 16:49 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 15:45 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 14:31 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 13:31 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 12:23 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 11:24 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 10:10 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 09:04 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 06:33 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Ambon City (18:18 and 18:27 local time), so they cannot be used here.
Ambon City compared with other cities
Compared with Jakarta, 2,380 km away, the Qibla in Ambon City is turned 3.7° further anticlockwise (291.5° against 295.2°), and Mecca is 2,068 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Sorong (464 km), prays towards 291.4°, a difference of 0.1°.
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 Ambon City
Qibla in Ambon City: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Ambon City?
It is 291.5° from true north, which is west: 21.5° north of west.
How far is Ambon City from Mecca?
9,988 km in a straight line over the globe, and 10,033 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Ambon City?
On 152 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 Ambon City not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 286.2°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Ambon City at 291.5°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 291.5° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.