Qibla direction in Dunedin

How to face the Qibla in Dunedin

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 14.4° towards south: the result is the bearing of 255.6°. 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 Dunedin, 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 Dunedin to Mecca points to 299.4° (north-west), a full 43.8° away from the true Qibla of 255.6° (west). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 423 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Dunedin first heads west, and that is the direction to face.

How is the figure of 255.6° obtained? From the coordinates of Dunedin (45.8742° S, 170.5036° 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 Dunedin to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 14,812 km from Dunedin as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 15,057 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 17 h 56 min, although most pilgrims from Dunedin connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Dunedin run 10 hours ahead of Mecca in winter and 9 hours ahead of 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 Dunedin rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Dunedin

On 112 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Dunedin while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in January (31 days); for example, on 1 January 2027 it happens at 19:29 local time.

On 216 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 January (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 10:31.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Dunedin (21:18 and 21:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 14 January 2027 at 10:29 and 29 November 2027 at 10:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Dunedin points straight to Mecca.

Dunedin compared with other cities

Compared with Wellington, 615 km away, the Qibla in Dunedin is turned 0.8° further anticlockwise (255.6° against 256.4°), and Mecca is 458 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Christchurch (310 km), prays towards 255.9°, a difference of 0.3°.

Among the 7 cities in New Zealand on this site, Dunedin has the smallest Qibla bearing; the largest is 261.2° in Auckland. Across the country the direction varies by 5.6°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for New Zealand.

Qibla in cities near Dunedin

• Christchurch255.9° · 310 km
• Wellington256.4° · 615 km
• Hamilton, Waikato Region, New Zealand259.8° · 982 km
• Tauranga259.2° · 1,024 km
• Manukau261.0° · 1,052 km
• Auckland261.2° · 1,064 km