Qibla · Sicily
Qibla direction in Palermo
To face the Kaaba in Palermo, turn to 118.7° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-east (28.7° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,138 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Palermo should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 118.7°, the Qibla of Palermo. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 119° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Palermo
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 28.7° towards south: the result is the bearing of 118.7°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 29° off.
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 Palermo, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Palermo to Mecca points to 126.2° (south-east), 7.5° away from the correct 118.7°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 7 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.
How is the figure of 118.7° obtained? From the coordinates of Palermo (38.1166° N, 13.3636° 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 Palermo to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,138 km from Palermo as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,904 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 12 min, although most pilgrims from Palermo connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Palermo run 2 hours behind Mecca in winter and 1 hour behind Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Palermo rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Palermo
On 299 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Palermo 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 07:58 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Palermo 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 | 07:58 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 08:17 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 08:36 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 08:53 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 10:14 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 10:31 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 10:49 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:05 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:21 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 11:30 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 11:33 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 11:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:12 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 10:53 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 10:25 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 10:00 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 09:31 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 09:06 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 07:40 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 07:23 | — |
| 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 Palermo: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Palermo compared with other cities
Compared with Rome, 426 km away, the Qibla in Palermo is turned 4.6° further anticlockwise (118.7° against 123.3°), and Mecca is 279 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Catania (165 km), prays towards 120.0°, a difference of 1.3°.
Across the 42 cities in Italy on this site, the Qibla ranges from 115.2° in Cagliari to 130.0° in Trieste, a spread of 14.8°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Italy.
Qibla in cities near Palermo
Qibla in Palermo: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Palermo?
It is 118.7° from true north, which is south-east: 28.7° south of east.
How far is Palermo from Mecca?
3,138 km in a straight line over the globe, and 2,904 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Palermo?
On 299 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 Palermo not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 126.2°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Palermo at 118.7°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 118.7° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.