Qibla direction in Elista

How to face the Qibla in Elista

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 9.7° towards west: the result is the bearing of 189.7°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 10° 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 Elista, 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Elista to Mecca points to 188.3°, only 1.5° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 189.7° bearing remains the exact one.

The value of 189.7° is the direction in which the shortest route from 46.3079° N, 44.2554° 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 Elista to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,796 km from Elista as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,464 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 3 h 47 min, although most pilgrims from Elista connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Elista run the same time as Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Elista rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Elista

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Elista 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 12:46 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Elista during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Elista: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Elista compared with other cities

Compared with Moscow, 1,147 km away, the Qibla in Elista is turned 13.4° further clockwise (189.7° against 176.4°), and Mecca is 1,026 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Volgodonsk (208 km), prays towards 184.9°, a difference of 4.8°.

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 Elista

• Volgodonsk184.9° · 208 km
• Stavropol185.0° · 227 km
• Nevinnomyssk185.0° · 259 km
• Volgograd189.4° · 268 km
• Pyatigorsk187.8° · 268 km
• Volzhsky190.0° · 278 km