Qibla · Dhofar
Qibla direction in Salalah
To face the Kaaba in Salalah, turn to 290.4° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (20.4° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 1,575 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Salalah should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 290.4°, the Qibla of Salalah. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 290° 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 Salalah
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 20.4° towards north: the result is the bearing of 290.4°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 20° 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 Salalah, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Salalah 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 Salalah to Mecca points to 288.1° (west), 2.3° away from the correct 290.4°. 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 290.4° obtained? From the coordinates of Salalah (17.0151° N, 54.0924° 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 Salalah to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 1,575 km from Salalah as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,717 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 21 min, although most pilgrims from Salalah connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Salalah 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 Salalah rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Salalah
On 88 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Salalah while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in July (31 days); for example, on 15 May 2027 it happens at 12:42 local time.
On 201 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 March (31 days), for instance on 1 February 2027 at 07:29.
| 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 | — | 07:29 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 08:16 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 09:00 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 09:42 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 10:31 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 11:12 |
| 1 May 2027 | — | 12:00 |
| 15 May 2027 | 12:42 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 13:28 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 13:53 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 13:53 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 13:28 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 12:42 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | — | 11:57 |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 11:00 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 10:11 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 09:15 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 08:27 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 07:30 |
| 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 Salalah: at 13:18 and 13:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Salalah compared with other cities
Compared with Bawshar, 857 km away, the Qibla in Salalah is turned 23.9° further clockwise (290.4° against 266.5°), and Mecca is 347 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Ibri (735 km), prays towards 266.6°, a difference of 23.8°.
Among the 8 cities in Oman on this site, Salalah has the largest Qibla bearing; the smallest is 262.7° in Sohar. Across the country the direction varies by 27.7°.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Oman.
Qibla in cities near Salalah
Qibla in Salalah: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Salalah?
It is 290.4° from true north, which is west: 20.4° north of west.
How far is Salalah from Mecca?
1,575 km in a straight line over the globe, and 1,717 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Salalah?
On 88 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.
Is the Qibla the same everywhere in Oman?
No. It ranges from 262.7° to 290.4° across the country, so each city has its own bearing.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 290.4° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.