Qibla · Region VIII
Qibla direction in Tacloban City
To face the Kaaba in Tacloban City, turn to 290.3° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (20.3° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 9,061 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Tacloban City should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 290.3°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 290°; 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 Tacloban City
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 20.3° towards north: the result is the bearing of 290.3°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 20° 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 Tacloban City to Mecca points to 277.1° (west), 13.2° away from the correct 290.3°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 84 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 11.2433° N, 125.0047° 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 Tacloban City to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 9,061 km from Tacloban City as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 9,032 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 11 h 10 min, although most pilgrims from Tacloban City connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Tacloban City run 5 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Tacloban City rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Tacloban City
On 105 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Tacloban City 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 1 May 2027 it happens at 12:22 local time.
On 170 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 06:55.
| 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 | — | 06:55 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 07:54 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 08:47 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 09:36 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 10:35 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 11:23 |
| 1 May 2027 | 12:22 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 13:17 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 14:33 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 14:26 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 13:15 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 12:18 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 11:10 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 10:14 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 09:10 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 08:14 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 07:06 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 06:09 |
| 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 Tacloban City: at 17:18 and 17:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Tacloban City compared with other cities
Compared with Manila, 574 km away, the Qibla in Tacloban City is turned 1.3° further clockwise (290.3° against 289.0°), and Mecca is 536 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Ormoc City (51 km), prays towards 290.3°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.
Across the 80 cities in the Philippines on this site, the Qibla ranges from 288.1° in Laoag to 290.9° in General Santos, a spread of 2.8°. The difference is small, yet each city should still use its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Philippines.
Qibla in cities near Tacloban City
- Ormoc City290.3° · 51 km
- Catbalogan290.2° · 61 km
- Cebu City290.3° · 159 km
- Toledo City290.2° · 178 km
- Naga, Central Visayas, Philippines290.3° · 178 km
- Cadiz, Western Visayas, Philippines290.1° · 190 km
Qibla in Tacloban City: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Tacloban City?
It is 290.3° from true north, which is west: 20.3° north of west.
How far is Tacloban City from Mecca?
9,061 km in a straight line over the globe, and 9,032 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Tacloban City?
On 105 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 Tacloban City not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 277.1°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Tacloban City at 290.3°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 290.3° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.