Qibla · Neamț County
Qibla direction in Piatra Neamţ
To face the Kaaba in Piatra Neamţ, turn to 152.2° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-east (27.8° east of south). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,084 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Piatra Neamţ should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 152.2°, the Qibla of Piatra Neamţ. 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 Piatra Neamţ
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 27.8° towards east: the result is the bearing of 152.2°. 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 Piatra Neamţ, 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 Piatra Neamţ to Mecca points to 156.7° (south-east), 4.5° away from the correct 152.2°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 2 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 152.2° obtained? From the coordinates of Piatra Neamţ (46.9167° N, 26.3333° 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 Piatra Neamţ to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,084 km from Piatra Neamţ as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,760 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 08 min, although most pilgrims from Piatra Neamţ connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Piatra Neamţ run 1 hour behind Mecca in winter and the same time as 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 Piatra Neamţ rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Piatra Neamţ
On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Piatra Neamţ 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 10:21 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Piatra Neamţ 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 | 10:21 | — |
| 15 January 2027 | 10:30 | — |
| 1 February 2027 | 10:40 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 10:47 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 10:52 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 10:56 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 12:00 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:04 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 12:08 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 12:13 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 12:19 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:24 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 12:27 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 12:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 12:22 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 12:14 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:02 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 11:50 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 11:36 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 11:25 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 10:14 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 10:09 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | 10:08 | — |
| 15 December 2027 | 10:12 | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Piatra Neamţ: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Piatra Neamţ compared with other cities
Compared with Bucharest, 277 km away, the Qibla in Piatra Neamţ is turned 2.9° further clockwise (152.2° against 149.3°), and Mecca is 233 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Bacau (59 km), prays towards 153.0°, a difference of 0.8°.
Across the 20 cities in Romania on this site, the Qibla ranges from 141.8° in Timișoara to 154.8° in Iași, a spread of 13.0°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Romania.
Qibla in cities near Piatra Neamţ
Qibla in Piatra Neamţ: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Piatra Neamţ?
It is 152.2° from true north, which is south-east: 27.8° east of south.
How far is Piatra Neamţ from Mecca?
3,084 km in a straight line over the globe, and 2,760 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Piatra Neamţ?
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 Piatra Neamţ not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 156.7°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Piatra Neamţ at 152.2°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 152.2° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.