Qibla · Shan State
Qibla direction in Möng Yang
To face the Kaaba in Möng Yang, turn to 281.6° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (11.6° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 6,144 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Möng Yang should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 281.6°, the Qibla of Möng Yang. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 282° 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 Möng Yang
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 11.6° towards north: the result is the bearing of 281.6°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 12° 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 Möng Yang, 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 Möng Yang to Mecca points to 269.6° (west), 12.0° away from the correct 281.6°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 42 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 281.6° obtained? From the coordinates of Möng Yang (21.8478° N, 99.6765° 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 Möng Yang to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 6,144 km from Möng Yang as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 6,099 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 7 h 44 min, although most pilgrims from Möng Yang connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Möng Yang 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 Möng Yang rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Möng Yang
On 119 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Möng Yang 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 17:20 local time.
On 190 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 06:50.
| 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 | — | 06:50 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 07:36 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 08:29 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 09:14 |
| 1 May 2027 | 17:20 | 10:07 |
| 15 May 2027 | 16:30 | 10:55 |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:53 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:28 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 12:26 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 15:55 | 11:51 |
| 1 August 2027 | 16:52 | 10:55 |
| 15 August 2027 | 17:39 | 10:05 |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 09:02 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 08:10 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 07:10 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 06:18 |
| 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 Möng Yang: at 15:48 and 15:57 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Möng Yang compared with other cities
Compared with Nay Pyi Taw, 437 km away, the Qibla in Möng Yang is turned 0.7° further anticlockwise (281.6° against 282.3°), and Mecca is 312 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Kēng Tung (35 km), prays towards 281.8°, a difference of 0.2°.
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 Möng Yang
Qibla in Möng Yang: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Möng Yang?
It is 281.6° from true north, which is west: 11.6° north of west.
How far is Möng Yang from Mecca?
6,144 km in a straight line over the globe, and 6,099 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Möng Yang?
On 119 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 Möng Yang not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 269.6°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Möng Yang at 281.6°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 281.6° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.