Qibla · Podlasie Voivodship
Qibla direction in Bialystok
To face the Kaaba in Bialystok, turn to 151.6° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-east (28.4° east of south). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,801 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Bialystok should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 151.6°, the Qibla of Bialystok. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 152° 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 Bialystok
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 28.4° towards east: the result is the bearing of 151.6°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 28° 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 Bialystok, 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 Bialystok to Mecca points to 157.9° (south), 6.3° away from the correct 151.6°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 5 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 151.6° obtained? From the coordinates of Bialystok (53.1333° N, 23.1643° 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 Bialystok to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,801 km from Bialystok as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,473 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 58 min, although most pilgrims from Bialystok connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Bialystok run 2 hours behind Mecca in winter and 1 hour behind Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Bialystok rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Bialystok
On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Bialystok while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in January (31 days); for example, on 1 January 2027 it happens at 09:28 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Bialystok during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | 09:28 | — |
| 15 January 2027 | 09:37 | — |
| 1 February 2027 | 09:46 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 09:53 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 09:57 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 10:00 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 11:03 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 11:06 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:09 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:14 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:19 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 11:24 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 11:27 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 11:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:22 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:16 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 11:04 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 10:53 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 10:40 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 10:30 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 09:20 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 09:16 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | 09:15 | — |
| 15 December 2027 | 09:19 | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Bialystok: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Bialystok compared with other cities
Compared with Warsaw, 176 km away, the Qibla in Bialystok is turned 4.0° further clockwise (151.6° against 147.6°), and Mecca is 13 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Warsaw (176 km), prays towards 147.6°, a difference of 4.0°.
Among the 33 cities in Poland on this site, Bialystok has the largest Qibla bearing; the smallest is 139.1° in Szczecin. Across the country the direction varies by 12.6°.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Poland.
Qibla in cities near Bialystok
Qibla in Bialystok: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Bialystok?
It is 151.6° from true north, which is south-east: 28.4° east of south.
How far is Bialystok from Mecca?
3,801 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,473 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Bialystok?
On 365 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 Bialystok not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 157.9°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Bialystok at 151.6°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 151.6° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.