Qibla direction in Mezhdurechensk

How to face the Qibla in Mezhdurechensk

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 22.2° towards south: the result is the bearing of 247.8°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 22° 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 Mezhdurechensk, 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 Mezhdurechensk to Mecca points to 229.0° (south-west), a full 18.8° away from the true Qibla of 247.8° (west). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 65 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Mezhdurechensk first heads west, and that is the direction to face.

The value of 247.8° is the direction in which the shortest route from 53.6899° N, 88.0622° 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 Mezhdurechensk to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 5,403 km from Mezhdurechensk as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 5,145 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 51 min, although most pilgrims from Mezhdurechensk connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Mezhdurechensk run 4 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Mezhdurechensk rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Mezhdurechensk

On 240 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Mezhdurechensk while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 1 March 2027 it happens at 17:53 local time.

On 96 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 July (31 days), for instance on 15 May 2027 at 06:08.

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

Mezhdurechensk compared with other cities

Compared with Moscow, 3,176 km away, the Qibla in Mezhdurechensk is turned 71.4° further clockwise (247.8° against 176.4°), and Mecca is 1,581 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Novokuznetsk (61 km), prays towards 246.8°, a difference of 1.0°.

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 Mezhdurechensk

• Novokuznetsk246.8° · 61 km
• Prokopyevsk246.3° · 92 km
• Leninsk-Kuznetsky245.1° · 163 km
• Abakan251.1° · 221 km
• Kemerovo244.4° · 224 km
• Biysk245.9° · 230 km