Qibla · Komi Republic
Qibla direction in Syktyvkar
To face the Kaaba in Syktyvkar, turn to 195.7° measured clockwise from true north, which is south (15.7° west of south). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,554 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Syktyvkar should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 195.7°, the Qibla of Syktyvkar. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 196° 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 Syktyvkar
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 15.7° towards west: the result is the bearing of 195.7°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 16° 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 Syktyvkar, 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 Syktyvkar to Mecca points to 190.9° (south), 4.8° away from the correct 195.7°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 3 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 195.7° obtained? From the coordinates of Syktyvkar (61.6639° N, 50.8163° 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 Syktyvkar to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,554 km from Syktyvkar as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,222 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 51 min, although most pilgrims from Syktyvkar connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Syktyvkar 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 Syktyvkar rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Syktyvkar
On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Syktyvkar 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 12:48 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Syktyvkar 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 | 12:48 | — |
| 15 January 2027 | 12:53 | — |
| 1 February 2027 | 12:55 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 12:53 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 12:49 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 12:42 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 12:34 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:27 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 12:22 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 12:19 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 12:18 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:20 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 12:24 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 12:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 12:29 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 12:29 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:28 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 12:26 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 12:24 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 12:23 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 12:24 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 12:27 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | 12:33 | — |
| 15 December 2027 | 12:40 | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Syktyvkar: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Syktyvkar compared with other cities
Compared with Moscow, 1,003 km away, the Qibla in Syktyvkar is turned 19.4° further clockwise (195.7° against 176.4°), and Mecca is 732 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Ukhta (258 km), prays towards 199.0°, a difference of 3.3°.
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 Syktyvkar
Qibla in Syktyvkar: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Syktyvkar?
It is 195.7° from true north, which is south: 15.7° west of south.
How far is Syktyvkar from Mecca?
4,554 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,222 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Syktyvkar?
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 Syktyvkar not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 190.9°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Syktyvkar at 195.7°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 195.7° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.