Qibla · Al Batinah North Governorate
Qibla direction in Saham
To face the Kaaba in Saham, turn to 263.5° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (6.5° south of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 1,774 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Saham should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 263.5°, the Qibla of Saham. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 263° 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 Saham
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 6.5° towards south: the result is the bearing of 263.5°. The direction is close to due west, which makes it easy to remember.
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 Saham, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Saham is a handy reference, because the 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 Saham to Mecca points to 260.1° (west), 3.4° away from the correct 263.5°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is not 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 263.5° obtained? From the coordinates of Saham (24.1722° N, 56.8886° 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 Saham to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 1,774 km from Saham as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,750 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 35 min, although most pilgrims from Saham connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Saham run 1 hour ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Saham rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Saham
On 209 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Saham 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 March 2027 it happens at 17:37 local time.
On 148 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 May (31 days), for instance on 15 April 2027 at 06:36.
| 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 | — | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 17:37 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 16:35 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 15:43 | 06:36 |
| 1 May 2027 | 14:46 | 07:28 |
| 15 May 2027 | 13:58 | 08:14 |
| 1 June 2027 | 13:07 | 09:09 |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:40 | 09:41 |
| 1 July 2027 | 12:49 | 09:39 |
| 15 July 2027 | 13:25 | 09:08 |
| 1 August 2027 | 14:19 | 08:14 |
| 15 August 2027 | 15:05 | 07:26 |
| 1 September 2027 | 15:58 | 06:24 |
| 15 September 2027 | 16:40 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 17:28 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | — | — |
| 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 Saham: at 13:18 and 13:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Saham compared with other cities
Compared with Bawshar, 167 km away, the Qibla in Saham is turned 3.0° further anticlockwise (263.5° against 266.5°), and Mecca is 147 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Sohar (27 km), prays towards 262.7°, a difference of 0.8°.
Across the 8 cities in Oman on this site, the Qibla ranges from 262.7° in Sohar to 290.4° in Salalah, a spread of 27.7°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Oman.
Qibla in cities near Saham
Qibla in Saham: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Saham?
It is 263.5° from true north, which is west: 6.5° south of west.
How far is Saham from Mecca?
1,774 km in a straight line over the globe, and 1,750 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Saham?
On 209 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 Saham not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 260.1°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Saham at 263.5°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 263.5° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.