Qibla direction in Babol

How to face the Qibla in Babol

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 40.0° towards west: the result is the bearing of 220.0°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “south” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Babol.

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 Babol, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of one of the mosques of Babol 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 Babol to Mecca points to 216.5° (south-west), 3.5° away from the correct 220.0°. 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 value of 220.0° is the direction in which the shortest route from 36.5510° N, 52.6786° 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 Babol to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,091 km from Babol as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,833 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 58 min, although most pilgrims from Babol connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Babol 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 Babol rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Babol

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Babol while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in January (31 days); for example, on 1 January 2027 it happens at 14:48 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Babol during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Babol: at 12:48 and 12:57 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Babol compared with other cities

Compared with Tehran, 148 km away, the Qibla in Babol is turned 1.5° further clockwise (220.0° against 218.5°), and Mecca is 145 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Qā’em Shahr (19 km), prays towards 220.6°, a difference of 0.6°.

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 Babol

• Qā’em Shahr220.6° · 19 km
• Āmol219.3° · 31 km
• Sari220.8° · 34 km
• Chālūs216.7° · 113 km
• Pardīs219.4° · 119 km
• Semnan223.6° · 126 km