Qibla direction in Ust'-Ilimsk

How to face the Qibla in Ust'-Ilimsk

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 11.4° towards south: the result is the bearing of 258.6°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 11° off.

The scholars distinguish two cases: the one who sees the Kaaba aims at the building itself, while the one who cannot see it, as anywhere in Ust'-Ilimsk, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of a local mosque is a quick way to confirm the result. If you travel or move house, check the angle again, since it changes from place to place.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Ust'-Ilimsk to Mecca points to 231.7° (south-west), a full 26.9° away from the true Qibla of 258.6° (west). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 150 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Ust'-Ilimsk first heads west, and that is the direction to face.

The value of 258.6° is the direction in which the shortest route from 58.0006° N, 102.6619° E sets off towards the Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. Every accurate Qibla calculator, and the plans of well-oriented mosques, arrive at the same angle for this point.

Distance from Ust'-Ilimsk to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 6,411 km from Ust'-Ilimsk as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 6,145 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 8 h 03 min, although most pilgrims from Ust'-Ilimsk connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Ust'-Ilimsk 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 Ust'-Ilimsk rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Ust'-Ilimsk

On 200 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Ust'-Ilimsk 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 18:30 local time.

On 141 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 06:40.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Ust'-Ilimsk: at 17:18 and 17:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Ust'-Ilimsk compared with other cities

Compared with Moscow, 3,806 km away, the Qibla in Ust'-Ilimsk is turned 82.3° further clockwise (258.6° against 176.4°), and Mecca is 2,590 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Bratsk (217 km), prays towards 258.8°, a difference of 0.2°.

Across the 158 cities in Russia on this site, the Qibla ranges from 148.7° in Kaliningrad to 305.3° in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, a spread of 156.6°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Russia.

Qibla in cities near Ust'-Ilimsk

• Bratsk258.8° · 217 km
• Kansk253.3° · 464 km
• Angarsk263.1° · 610 km
• Krasnoyarsk250.8° · 627 km
• Irkutsk263.6° · 643 km
• Ulan-Ude266.6° · 755 km