Qibla · Coimbra District
Qibla direction in Coimbra
To face the Kaaba in Coimbra, turn to 99.9° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (9.9° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,985 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Coimbra should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 99.9°, the Qibla of Coimbra. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 100° 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 Coimbra
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 9.9° towards south: the result is the bearing of 99.9°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 10° 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 Coimbra, 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 Coimbra to Mecca points to 114.6° (south-east), 14.7° away from the correct 99.9°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 42 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 99.9° obtained? From the coordinates of Coimbra (40.2069° N, 8.4200° W) 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 Coimbra to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,985 km from Coimbra as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,773 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 22 min, although most pilgrims from Coimbra connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Coimbra run 3 hours behind Mecca in winter and 2 hours 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 Coimbra rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Coimbra
On 211 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Coimbra 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 07:33 local time.
On 136 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 19:48.
| 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 | 07:33 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 08:59 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 09:20 | 19:48 |
| 1 May 2027 | 09:43 | 19:19 |
| 15 May 2027 | 10:02 | 18:58 |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:22 | 18:42 |
| 15 June 2027 | 10:33 | 18:37 |
| 1 July 2027 | 10:35 | 18:42 |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:27 | 18:53 |
| 1 August 2027 | 10:08 | 19:14 |
| 15 August 2027 | 09:45 | 19:33 |
| 1 September 2027 | 09:13 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 08:44 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 08:10 | — |
| 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 Coimbra: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Coimbra compared with other cities
Compared with Lisbon, 176 km away, the Qibla in Coimbra is turned 2.0° further clockwise (99.9° against 97.9°), and Mecca is 36 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Leiria (61 km), prays towards 99.1°, a difference of 0.8°.
Across the 8 cities in Portugal on this site, the Qibla ranges from 87.6° in Funchal to 101.2° in Braga, a spread of 13.6°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Portugal.
Qibla in cities near Coimbra
Qibla in Coimbra: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Coimbra?
It is 99.9° from true north, which is east: 9.9° south of east.
How far is Coimbra from Mecca?
4,985 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,773 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Coimbra?
On 211 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 Coimbra not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 114.6°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Coimbra at 99.9°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 99.9° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.