Qibla · Imo State
Qibla direction in Owerri
To face the Kaaba in Owerri, turn to 60.2° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-east (29.8° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,950 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Owerri should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 60.2°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 60°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Owerri
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 29.8° towards north: the result is the bearing of 60.2°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 30° off.
Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Owerri to Mecca points to 63.4° (north-east), 3.2° away from the correct 60.2°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 3 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.
The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 5.4836° N, 7.0333° E to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.
Distance from Owerri to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,950 km from Owerri as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,067 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 09 min, although most pilgrims from Owerri connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Owerri 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 Owerri rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Owerri
On 158 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Owerri 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 12:01 local time.
On 207 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 16:20.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 16:20 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 16:05 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 15:30 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 14:54 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 14:15 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 13:33 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 12:42 |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:01 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:17 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 10:43 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:12 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 10:00 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 10:06 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:26 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:01 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:33 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:12 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 12:44 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 13:22 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 13:55 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 14:38 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 15:14 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 15:52 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 16:15 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Owerri: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Owerri compared with other cities
Compared with Abuja, 401 km away, the Qibla in Owerri is turned 4.4° further anticlockwise (60.2° against 64.6°), and Mecca is 230 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Umuahia (51 km), prays towards 60.0°, a difference of 0.2°.
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 Owerri
Qibla in Owerri: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Owerri?
It is 60.2° from true north, which is north-east: 29.8° north of east.
How far is Owerri from Mecca?
3,950 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,067 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Owerri?
On 158 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 Owerri not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 63.4°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Owerri at 60.2°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 60.2° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.