Qibla · South Papua Province
Qibla direction in Merauke
To face the Kaaba in Merauke, turn to 290.2° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (20.2° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 11,441 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Merauke should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 290.2°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 290°; 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 Merauke
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 20.2° towards north: the result is the bearing of 290.2°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 20° off.
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 Merauke to Mecca points to 286.9° (west), 3.3° away from the correct 290.2°. 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.
The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 8.4996° S, 140.4061° 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 Merauke to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 11,441 km from Merauke as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 11,485 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 13 h 58 min, although most pilgrims from Merauke connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Merauke 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 Merauke rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Merauke
On 157 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Merauke while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 1 March 2027 it happens at 11:59 local time.
On 93 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 06:19.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 06:19 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 09:57 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 11:02 |
| 1 March 2027 | 11:59 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 12:53 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 13:55 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 14:47 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 15:52 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 16:56 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | — | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 16:50 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 15:46 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 14:32 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 13:33 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 12:25 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | — | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 10:11 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 09:06 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 06:32 |
| 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 Merauke (18:18 and 18:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 14 January 2027 at 06:29 and 29 November 2027 at 06:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Merauke points straight to Mecca.
Merauke compared with other cities
Compared with Jakarta, 3,709 km away, the Qibla in Merauke is turned 5.0° further anticlockwise (290.2° against 295.2°), and Mecca is 3,520 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Timika (597 km), prays towards 291.0°, a difference of 0.9°.
Among the 140 cities in Indonesia on this site, Merauke has the smallest Qibla bearing; the largest is 295.5° in Pelabuhanratu. Across the country the direction varies by 5.3°.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Indonesia.
Qibla in cities near Merauke
Qibla in Merauke: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Merauke?
It is 290.2° from true north, which is west: 20.2° north of west.
How far is Merauke from Mecca?
11,441 km in a straight line over the globe, and 11,485 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Merauke?
On 157 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 Merauke not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 286.9°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Merauke at 290.2°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 290.2° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.