Qibla direction in Tanjungbalai

How to face the Qibla in Tanjungbalai

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 22.9° towards north: the result is the bearing of 292.9°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 23° off.

The scholars distinguish two cases: the one who sees the Kaaba aims at the building itself, while the one who cannot see it, as anywhere in Tanjungbalai, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of a local mosque is a quick way to confirm the result. If you travel or move house, check the angle again, since it changes from place to place.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Tanjungbalai to Mecca points to 287.6° (west), 5.4° away from the correct 292.9°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 16 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 value of 292.9° is the direction in which the shortest route from 2.9667° N, 99.8000° E sets off towards the Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. Every accurate Qibla calculator, and the plans of well-oriented mosques, arrive at the same angle for this point.

Distance from Tanjungbalai to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 6,788 km from Tanjungbalai as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 6,866 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 8 h 29 min, although most pilgrims from Tanjungbalai connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Tanjungbalai 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 Tanjungbalai rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Tanjungbalai

On 150 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Tanjungbalai 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 April 2027 it happens at 12:39 local time.

On 165 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 October (31 days), for instance on 15 January 2027 at 07:40.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Tanjungbalai: at 16:18 and 16:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Tanjungbalai compared with other cities

Compared with Jakarta, 1,286 km away, the Qibla in Tanjungbalai is turned 2.2° further anticlockwise (292.9° against 295.2°), and Mecca is 1,132 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Kisaran (21 km), prays towards 292.9°, 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 Tanjungbalai

• Kisaran292.9° · 21 km
• Pematangsiantar293.0° · 81 km
• Tebingtinggi292.8° · 81 km
• Rantauprapat293.3° · 96 km
• Percut292.7° · 127 km
• Medan292.8° · 143 km