Qibla · Pavlodar Region
Qibla direction in Pavlodar
To face the Kaaba in Pavlodar, turn to 237.1° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-west (32.9° south of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,672 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Pavlodar should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 237.1°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 237°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Pavlodar
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 32.9° towards south: the result is the bearing of 237.1°. 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 Pavlodar.
Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Pavlodar to Mecca points to 223.2° (south-west), 13.9° away from the correct 237.1°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 32 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 angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 52.2760° N, 76.9688° E to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.
Distance from Pavlodar to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,672 km from Pavlodar as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,406 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h, although most pilgrims from Pavlodar connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Pavlodar 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 Pavlodar rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Pavlodar
On 277 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Pavlodar 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 15 February 2027 it happens at 16:00 local time.
On 36 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in June (27 days), for instance on 15 June 2027 at 04:15.
| 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 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 16:00 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 15:46 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 15:29 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 15:08 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 14:52 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 14:35 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 14:24 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 14:17 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 14:16 | 04:15 |
| 1 July 2027 | 14:20 | 04:18 |
| 15 July 2027 | 14:26 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 14:37 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 14:45 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 14:55 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 15:03 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 15:12 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 15:21 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 15:34 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 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 Pavlodar: at 14:18 and 14:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Pavlodar compared with other cities
Compared with Astana, 399 km away, the Qibla in Pavlodar is turned 5.6° further clockwise (237.1° against 231.5°), and Mecca is 380 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Ekibastuz (128 km), prays towards 235.7°, a difference of 1.4°.
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 Pavlodar
Qibla in Pavlodar: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Pavlodar?
It is 237.1° from true north, which is south-west: 32.9° south of west.
How far is Pavlodar from Mecca?
4,672 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,406 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Pavlodar?
On 277 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 Pavlodar not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 223.2°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Pavlodar at 237.1°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 237.1° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.