Qibla · Ayeyarwady
Qibla direction in Hinthada
To face the Kaaba in Hinthada, turn to 283.8° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (13.8° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 5,816 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Hinthada should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 283.8°, the Qibla of Hinthada. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 284° 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 Hinthada
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 13.8° towards north: the result is the bearing of 283.8°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 14° 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 Hinthada, 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Hinthada to Mecca points to 274.1° (west), 9.7° away from the correct 283.8°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 28 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.
How is the figure of 283.8° obtained? From the coordinates of Hinthada (17.6494° N, 95.4571° 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 Hinthada to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 5,816 km from Hinthada as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 5,807 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 7 h 21 min, although most pilgrims from Hinthada connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Hinthada run 3.5 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Hinthada rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Hinthada
On 70 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Hinthada 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 May 2027 it happens at 17:57 local time.
On 165 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 1 March 2027 at 07:39.
| 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 | — | 07:39 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 08:31 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 09:32 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 10:23 |
| 1 May 2027 | 17:57 | 11:25 |
| 15 May 2027 | 12:26 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 14:07 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 13:48 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 12:22 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | — | 11:20 |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 10:09 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 09:11 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 08:04 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 07:06 |
| 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 Hinthada: at 15:48 and 15:57 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Hinthada compared with other cities
Compared with Nay Pyi Taw, 244 km away, the Qibla in Hinthada is turned 1.5° further clockwise (283.8° against 282.3°), and Mecca is 16 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Bago, Bago Region, Myanmar (114 km), prays towards 284.2°, a difference of 0.4°.
Across the 30 cities in Myanmar on this site, the Qibla ranges from 279.1° in Kalemyo to 287.6° in Myeik, a spread of 8.5°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Myanmar.
Qibla in cities near Hinthada
Qibla in Hinthada: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Hinthada?
It is 283.8° from true north, which is west: 13.8° north of west.
How far is Hinthada from Mecca?
5,816 km in a straight line over the globe, and 5,807 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Hinthada?
On 70 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 Hinthada not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 274.1°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Hinthada at 283.8°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 283.8° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.