Qibla · Flevoland
Qibla direction in Almere Stad
To face the Kaaba in Almere Stad, turn to 126.0° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-east (36.0° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,536 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Almere Stad should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 126.0°, the Qibla of Almere Stad. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 126° 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 Almere Stad
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 36.0° towards south: the result is the bearing of 126.0°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Almere Stad.
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 Almere Stad, 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 Almere Stad to Mecca points to 139.0° (south-east), 13.0° away from the correct 126.0°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 27 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 126.0° obtained? From the coordinates of Almere Stad (52.3703° N, 5.2141° 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 Almere Stad to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,536 km from Almere Stad as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,240 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 50 min, although most pilgrims from Almere Stad connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Almere Stad run 2 hours behind Mecca in winter and 1 hour behind Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Almere Stad rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Almere Stad
On 287 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Almere Stad while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 1 February 2027 it happens at 09:02 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Almere Stad during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.
| 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 | 09:02 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 09:14 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 09:24 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 09:33 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 10:43 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 10:52 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:01 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:10 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:20 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 11:26 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 11:29 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 11:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:18 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:06 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 10:48 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 10:31 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 10:12 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 09:56 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 08:39 | — |
| 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 Almere Stad: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Almere Stad compared with other cities
The Qibla here is practically the same as in Amsterdam (125.6°), and Mecca is 18 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Amsterdam (22 km), prays towards 125.6°, a difference of 0.4°.
Across the 22 cities in the Netherlands on this site, the Qibla ranges from 124.6° in The Hague to 128.4° in Groningen, a spread of 3.8°. The difference is small, yet each city should still use its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Netherlands.
Qibla in cities near Almere Stad
Qibla in Almere Stad: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Almere Stad?
It is 126.0° from true north, which is south-east: 36.0° south of east.
How far is Almere Stad from Mecca?
4,536 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,240 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Almere Stad?
On 287 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 Almere Stad not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 139.0°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Almere Stad at 126.0°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 126.0° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.