Qibla direction in Basra

How to face the Qibla in Basra

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 40°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Basra.

Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Basra, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Basra is a handy reference, because the prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Basra to Mecca points to 218.2°, only 1.9° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 220.0° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 220.0° obtained? From the coordinates of Basra (30.5085° N, 47.7804° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.

Distance from Basra to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,285 km from Basra as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,048 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Basra travel to the Hijaz by road.

Clocks in Basra run the same time as Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Basra rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Basra

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Basra 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 14:30 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Basra 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 Basra: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Basra compared with other cities

Compared with Baghdad, 448 km away, the Qibla in Basra is turned 20.1° further clockwise (220.0° against 199.9°), and Mecca is 115 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Umm Qaşr (54 km), prays towards 222.1°, a difference of 2.1°.

Across the 40 cities in Iraq on this site, the Qibla ranges from 190.9° in Duhok to 224.3° in Al Fāw, a spread of 33.4°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Iraq.

Qibla in cities near Basra

• Umm Qaşr222.1° · 54 km
• Al Qurnah217.2° · 65 km
• Al Madīnah216.7° · 70 km
• Al Fāw224.3° · 89 km
• Nasiriyah212.4° · 158 km
• Amarah213.9° · 159 km