Qibla direction in Atyrau

How to face the Qibla in Atyrau

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 24.9° towards west: the result is the bearing of 204.9°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 25° off.

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 Atyrau, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of a local mosque 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 Atyrau to Mecca points to 200.9° (south), 4.0° away from the correct 204.9°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 2 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 204.9° is the direction in which the shortest route from 47.1048° N, 51.8843° 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 Atyrau to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 3,055 km from Atyrau as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,742 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 06 min, although most pilgrims from Atyrau connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Atyrau run 2 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Atyrau rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Atyrau

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Atyrau 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 15:20 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Atyrau 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 Atyrau: at 14:18 and 14:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Atyrau compared with other cities

Compared with Astana, 1,488 km away, the Qibla in Atyrau is turned 26.5° further anticlockwise (204.9° against 231.5°), and Mecca is 1,238 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Aktau (387 km), prays towards 206.6°, a difference of 1.7°.

Across the 23 cities in Kazakhstan on this site, the Qibla ranges from 201.2° in Oral to 246.6° in Almaty, a spread of 45.4°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Kazakhstan.

Qibla in cities near Atyrau

• Aktau206.6° · 387 km
• Zhangaözen210.5° · 425 km
• Oral201.2° · 462 km
• Aktobe211.7° · 526 km
• Rudnyy218.5° · 1,032 km
• Kostanay219.0° · 1,075 km