Qibla direction in Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat

How to face the Qibla in Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 24.0° towards north: the result is the bearing of 66.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 24° off.

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 Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat, 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 Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat to Mecca points to 87.2° (east), a full 21.2° away from the true Qibla of 66.0° (north-east). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 209 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat first heads north-east, and that is the direction to face.

How is the figure of 66.0° obtained? From the coordinates of Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat (16.7056° N, 62.2129° 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 Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 10,524 km from Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 10,387 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 12 h 53 min, although most pilgrims from Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat run 7 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat

On 91 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat 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 11:44 local time.

On 229 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 March (31 days), for instance on 15 January 2027 at 17:26.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat (05:18 and 05:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 13 January 2027 at 17:29 and 28 November 2027 at 17:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat points straight to Mecca.

Plymouth, Saint Anthony, Montserrat compared with other cities

See all cities on the Qibla page for Montserrat.