Qibla · Delta
Qibla direction in Sapele
To face the Kaaba in Sapele, turn to 61.5° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-east (28.5° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,059 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Sapele should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 61.5°, the Qibla of Sapele. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 61° 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 Sapele
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 28.5° towards north: the result is the bearing of 61.5°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 29° 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 Sapele, 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 Sapele to Mecca points to 64.8° (north-east), 3.4° away from the correct 61.5°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 4 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 61.5° obtained? From the coordinates of Sapele (5.8941° N, 5.6767° 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 Sapele to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,059 km from Sapele as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,166 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 17 min, although most pilgrims from Sapele connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Sapele run 2 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Sapele rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Sapele
On 156 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Sapele 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 15 April 2027 it happens at 12:08 local time.
On 209 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 16:42.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 16:42 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 16:25 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 15:47 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 15:09 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 14:27 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 13:44 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 12:51 |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:08 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:21 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 10:45 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:11 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 09:58 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 10:04 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:25 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:03 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:38 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:20 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 12:54 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 13:33 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 14:09 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 14:54 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 15:33 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 16:13 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 16:38 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Sapele: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Sapele compared with other cities
Compared with Abuja, 405 km away, the Qibla in Sapele is turned 3.1° further anticlockwise (61.5° against 64.6°), and Mecca is 338 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Warri (43 km), prays towards 61.0°, a difference of 0.5°.
Across the 90 cities in Nigeria on this site, the Qibla ranges from 58.6° in Esuk Oron to 70.9° in Sokoto, a spread of 12.3°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Nigeria.
Qibla in cities near Sapele
Qibla in Sapele: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Sapele?
It is 61.5° from true north, which is north-east: 28.5° north of east.
How far is Sapele from Mecca?
4,059 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,166 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Sapele?
On 156 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 Sapele not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 64.8°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Sapele at 61.5°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 61.5° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.