Qibla · Souss-Massa
Qibla direction in Agadir
To face the Kaaba in Agadir, turn to 89.3° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (0.7° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 5,004 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Agadir should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 89.3°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 89°; 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 Agadir
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 0.7° towards north: the result is the bearing of 89.3°. The direction is close to due east, which makes it easy to remember.
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. The simplest check in Agadir is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Agadir. 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 Agadir to Mecca points to 101.5° (east), 12.1° away from the correct 89.3°. 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 30.4202° N, 9.5982° W 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 Agadir to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 5,004 km from Agadir as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,864 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 23 min, although most pilgrims from Agadir connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Agadir run 3 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Agadir rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Agadir
On 173 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Agadir 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 07:08 local time.
On 178 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 May (31 days), for instance on 1 April 2027 at 18:05.
| 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 | — | — |
| 1 March 2027 | — | — |
| 15 March 2027 | — | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 07:08 | 18:05 |
| 15 April 2027 | 07:41 | 17:24 |
| 1 May 2027 | 08:19 | 16:40 |
| 15 May 2027 | 08:52 | 16:07 |
| 1 June 2027 | 09:25 | 15:36 |
| 15 June 2027 | 09:42 | 15:25 |
| 1 July 2027 | 09:43 | 15:31 |
| 15 July 2027 | 09:28 | 15:51 |
| 1 August 2027 | 08:54 | 16:26 |
| 15 August 2027 | 08:19 | 16:57 |
| 1 September 2027 | 07:31 | 17:36 |
| 15 September 2027 | 06:49 | 18:08 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | — |
| 15 October 2027 | — | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 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 Agadir: at 09:18 and 09:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Agadir compared with other cities
Compared with Rabat, 477 km away, the Qibla in Agadir is turned 5.3° further anticlockwise (89.3° against 94.6°), and Mecca is 247 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Guelmim (165 km), prays towards 87.7°, a difference of 1.6°.
Across the 34 cities in Morocco on this site, the Qibla ranges from 87.7° in Guelmim to 98.7° in Oujda, a spread of 11.0°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Morocco.
Qibla in cities near Agadir
Qibla in Agadir: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Agadir?
It is 89.3° from true north, which is east: 0.7° north of east.
How far is Agadir from Mecca?
5,004 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,864 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Agadir?
On 173 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 Agadir not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 101.5°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Agadir at 89.3°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 89.3° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.