Qibla · Kerman
Qibla direction in Sīrjān
To face the Kaaba in Sīrjān, turn to 244.3° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-west (25.7° south of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 1,823 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Sīrjān should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 244.3°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 244°; 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 Sīrjān
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 25.7° towards south: the result is the bearing of 244.3°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 26° 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. The simplest check in Sīrjān is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Sīrjān. 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 Sīrjān to Mecca points to 240.7° (south-west), 3.6° away from the correct 244.3°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 1 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 29.4514° N, 55.6809° 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 Sīrjān to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 1,823 km from Sīrjān as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,685 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 39 min, although most pilgrims from Sīrjān connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Sīrjān run 0.5 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Sīrjān rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Sīrjān
On 310 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Sīrjān 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 February 2027 it happens at 16:35 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Sīrjān 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 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | 16:35 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 16:10 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 15:41 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 15:10 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 14:31 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 14:00 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 13:27 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 13:04 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 12:44 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:38 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 12:43 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 12:56 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 13:19 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 13:41 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 14:08 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 14:30 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 14:56 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 15:19 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 15:50 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 16:15 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Sīrjān: at 12:48 and 12:57 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Sīrjān compared with other cities
Compared with Tehran, 801 km away, the Qibla in Sīrjān is turned 25.8° further clockwise (244.3° against 218.5°), and Mecca is 124 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Rafsanjān (110 km), prays towards 242.1°, a difference of 2.3°.
Across the 90 cities in Iran on this site, the Qibla ranges from 195.9° in Khoy to 257.6° in Iranshahr, a spread of 61.7°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Iran.
Qibla in cities near Sīrjān
Qibla in Sīrjān: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Sīrjān?
It is 244.3° from true north, which is south-west: 25.7° south of west.
How far is Sīrjān from Mecca?
1,823 km in a straight line over the globe, and 1,685 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Sīrjān?
On 310 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 Sīrjān not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 240.7°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Sīrjān at 244.3°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 244.3° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.