Qibla direction in San Juan Bautista Tuxtla

How to face the Qibla in San Juan Bautista Tuxtla

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 40.6° towards north: the result is the bearing of 49.4°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 40°, which is why a measured bearing matters in San Juan Bautista Tuxtla.

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 San Juan Bautista Tuxtla, 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

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from San Juan Bautista Tuxtla to Mecca points to 88.5° (east), a full 39.1° away from the true Qibla of 49.4° (north-east). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 719 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from San Juan Bautista Tuxtla first heads north-east, and that is the direction to face.

How is the figure of 49.4° obtained? From the coordinates of San Juan Bautista Tuxtla (18.0883° N, 96.1254° W) 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 San Juan Bautista Tuxtla to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 13,511 km from San Juan Bautista Tuxtla as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 13,278 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 16 h 24 min, although most pilgrims from San Juan Bautista Tuxtla connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in San Juan Bautista Tuxtla run 9 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of San Juan Bautista Tuxtla rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in San Juan Bautista Tuxtla

On 81 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of San Juan Bautista Tuxtla while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in July (31 days); for example, on 15 May 2027 it happens at 12:17 local time.

On 284 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 15:33.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in San Juan Bautista Tuxtla (03:18 and 03:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 13 January 2027 at 15:29 and 28 November 2027 at 15:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in San Juan Bautista Tuxtla points straight to Mecca.

San Juan Bautista Tuxtla compared with other cities

Compared with Mexico City, 349 km away, the Qibla in San Juan Bautista Tuxtla is turned 2.8° further clockwise (49.4° against 46.6°), and Mecca is 135 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Veracruz (122 km), prays towards 48.9°, a difference of 0.5°.

Across the 99 cities in Mexico on this site, the Qibla ranges from 25.5° in Rosarito to 54.2° in Chetumal, a spread of 28.7°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Mexico.

Qibla in cities near San Juan Bautista Tuxtla

• Veracruz48.9° · 122 km
• Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico48.5° · 122 km
• Oaxaca City49.5° · 131 km
• Orizaba48.4° · 133 km
• Tehuacán48.3° · 141 km
• Minatitlán50.5° · 166 km