Qibla · Komi Republic
Qibla direction in Ukhta
To face the Kaaba in Ukhta, turn to 199.0° measured clockwise from true north, which is south (19.0° west of south). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,800 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Ukhta should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 199.0°, the Qibla of Ukhta. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 199° 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 Ukhta
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 19.0° towards west: the result is the bearing of 199.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 19° 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 Ukhta, 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 Ukhta to Mecca points to 192.8° (south), 6.2° away from the correct 199.0°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 6 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 199.0° obtained? From the coordinates of Ukhta (63.5690° N, 53.6914° 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 Ukhta to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,800 km from Ukhta as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,469 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 09 min, although most pilgrims from Ukhta connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Ukhta 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 Ukhta rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Ukhta
On 323 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Ukhta 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 15 January 2027 it happens at 12:56 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Ukhta 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 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | 12:56 | — |
| 1 February 2027 | 12:58 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 12:56 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 12:51 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 12:44 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 12:35 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:28 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 12:22 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 12:19 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 12:18 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:20 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 12:23 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 12:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 12:29 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 12:30 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:29 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 12:27 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 12:26 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 12:25 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 12:26 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 12:30 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Ukhta: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Ukhta compared with other cities
Compared with Moscow, 1,247 km away, the Qibla in Ukhta is turned 22.7° further clockwise (199.0° against 176.4°), and Mecca is 978 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Syktyvkar (258 km), prays towards 195.7°, 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 Ukhta
Qibla in Ukhta: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Ukhta?
It is 199.0° from true north, which is south: 19.0° west of south.
How far is Ukhta from Mecca?
4,800 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,469 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Ukhta?
On 323 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 Ukhta not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 192.8°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Ukhta at 199.0°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 199.0° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.