Qibla direction in Yazd

How to face the Qibla in Yazd

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 35.4° towards south: the result is the bearing of 234.6°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “west” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Yazd.

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 Yazd, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of one of the mosques of Yazd 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 Yazd to Mecca points to 231.1° (south-west), 3.5° away from the correct 234.6°. 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 234.6° is the direction in which the shortest route from 31.8972° N, 54.3675° 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 Yazd to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,853 km from Yazd as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,663 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 41 min, although most pilgrims from Yazd connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Yazd 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 Yazd rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Yazd

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Yazd 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 15:59 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Yazd 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 Yazd: at 12:48 and 12:57 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Yazd compared with other cities

Compared with Tehran, 502 km away, the Qibla in Yazd is turned 16.1° further clockwise (234.6° against 218.5°), and Mecca is 93 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Rafsanjān (227 km), prays towards 242.1°, a difference of 7.4°.

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 Yazd

• Rafsanjān242.1° · 227 km
• Shahreẕā228.3° · 237 km
• Bahārestān226.8° · 253 km
• Isfahan226.1° · 267 km
• Marvdasht237.1° · 270 km
• Shāhīn Shahr225.2° · 285 km