Qibla · Krasnoyarsk Krai
Qibla direction in Kansk
To face the Kaaba in Kansk, turn to 253.3° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (16.7° south of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 5,956 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Kansk should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 253.3°, the Qibla of Kansk. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 253° 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 Kansk
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 16.7° towards south: the result is the bearing of 253.3°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 17° 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 Kansk, 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
This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Kansk to Mecca points to 230.3° (south-west), a full 23.0° away from the true Qibla of 253.3° (west). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 104 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Kansk first heads west, and that is the direction to face.
How is the figure of 253.3° obtained? From the coordinates of Kansk (56.2022° N, 95.7185° 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 Kansk to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 5,956 km from Kansk as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 5,694 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 7 h 30 min, although most pilgrims from Kansk connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Kansk 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 Kansk rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Kansk
On 217 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Kansk 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 17:32 local time.
On 121 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 1 May 2027 at 05:54.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | — | — |
| 1 March 2027 | — | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 17:32 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 17:10 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 16:53 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 16:36 | 05:54 |
| 15 May 2027 | 16:25 | 06:04 |
| 1 June 2027 | 16:17 | 06:15 |
| 15 June 2027 | 16:15 | 06:21 |
| 1 July 2027 | 16:19 | 06:24 |
| 15 July 2027 | 16:26 | 06:22 |
| 1 August 2027 | 16:37 | 06:12 |
| 15 August 2027 | 16:46 | 05:59 |
| 1 September 2027 | 16:57 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 17:06 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 17:16 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | — | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 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 Kansk: at 16:18 and 16:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Kansk compared with other cities
Compared with Moscow, 3,506 km away, the Qibla in Kansk is turned 77.0° further clockwise (253.3° against 176.4°), and Mecca is 2,135 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Krasnoyarsk (174 km), prays towards 250.8°, a difference of 2.6°.
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 Kansk
- Krasnoyarsk250.8° · 174 km
- Achinsk248.2° · 322 km
- Bratsk258.8° · 365 km
- Abakan251.1° · 389 km
- Ust'-Ilimsk258.6° · 464 km
- Kyzyl255.5° · 506 km
Qibla in Kansk: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Kansk?
It is 253.3° from true north, which is west: 16.7° south of west.
How far is Kansk from Mecca?
5,956 km in a straight line over the globe, and 5,694 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Kansk?
On 217 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 Kansk not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 230.3°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Kansk at 253.3°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 253.3° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.