Qibla direction in Al Bayda'

How to face the Qibla in Al Bayda'

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 30.7° towards south: the result is the bearing of 120.7°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Al Bayda'.

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 Al Bayda', aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of one of the mosques of Al Bayda' 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 Al Bayda' to Mecca points to 125.2° (south-east), 4.5° away from the correct 120.7°. 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 120.7° is the direction in which the shortest route from 32.7627° N, 21.7551° 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 Al Bayda' to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,183 km from Al Bayda' as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,968 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 3 h 04 min, although most pilgrims from Al Bayda' connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Al Bayda' run 1 hour behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Al Bayda' rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Al Bayda'

On 347 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Al Bayda' 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 08:02 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Al Bayda' 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 Al Bayda': at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Al Bayda' compared with other cities

Compared with Tripoli, Libya, 800 km away, the Qibla in Al Bayda' is turned 11.6° further clockwise (120.7° against 109.2°), and Mecca is 733 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Darnah (82 km), prays towards 122.3°, a difference of 1.6°.

Across the 17 cities in Libya on this site, the Qibla ranges from 98.1° in Sabha to 123.1° in Tobruk, a spread of 25.0°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Libya.

Qibla in cities near Al Bayda'

• Darnah122.3° · 82 km
• Benghazi116.4° · 174 km
• Tobruk123.1° · 220 km
• Ajdabiya113.3° · 266 km
• Sirte109.6° · 517 km
• Misratah110.3° · 626 km