Qibla · Mandera County
Qibla direction in Mandera
To face the Kaaba in Mandera, turn to 353.7° measured clockwise from true north, which is north (6.3° west of north). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 1,957 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Mandera should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 353.7°, the Qibla of Mandera. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 354° 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 Mandera
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 6.3° towards west: the result is the bearing of 353.7°. The direction is close to due north, which makes it easy to remember.
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 Mandera, 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
On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Mandera to Mecca points to 353.6°, only 0.2° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 353.7° bearing remains the exact one.
How is the figure of 353.7° obtained? From the coordinates of Mandera (3.9373° N, 41.8569° 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 Mandera to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 1,957 km from Mandera as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,295 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 48 min, although most pilgrims from Mandera connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Mandera 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 Mandera rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Mandera
On 166 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Mandera while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (31 days); for example, on 1 April 2027 it happens at 12:17 local time.
On 199 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 January (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 12:04.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 12:04 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 12:10 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 12:17 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 12:19 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 12:20 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 12:19 |
| 1 April 2027 | 12:17 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:15 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 12:15 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 12:16 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 12:19 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:22 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 12:25 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 12:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 12:25 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 12:22 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:15 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 12:08 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 11:59 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 11:53 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 11:48 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 11:47 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 11:50 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 11:55 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Mandera: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Mandera compared with other cities
Compared with Nairobi, 807 km away, the Qibla in Mandera is turned 13.5° further anticlockwise (353.7° against 7.2°), and Mecca is 589 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Garissa (546 km), prays towards 0.5°, a difference of 6.7°.
Across the 20 cities in Kenya on this site, the Qibla ranges from 0.4° in Mombasa to 359.4° in Malindi, a spread of 359.0°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Kenya.
Qibla in cities near Mandera
Qibla in Mandera: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Mandera?
It is 353.7° from true north, which is north: 6.3° west of north.
How far is Mandera from Mecca?
1,957 km in a straight line over the globe, and 2,295 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Mandera?
On 166 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.
Is the Qibla the same everywhere in Kenya?
No. It ranges from 0.4° to 359.4° across the country, so each city has its own bearing.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 353.7° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.