Qibla direction in Nakhodka

How to face the Qibla in Nakhodka

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 18.0° towards north: the result is the bearing of 288.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 18° 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 Nakhodka, 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 Nakhodka to Mecca points to 254.6° (west), a full 33.4° away from the true Qibla of 288.0° (west). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 345 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Nakhodka first heads west, and that is the direction to face.

The value of 288.0° is the direction in which the shortest route from 42.8436° N, 132.9183° 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 Nakhodka to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 8,650 km from Nakhodka as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 8,443 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 10 h 41 min, although most pilgrims from Nakhodka connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Nakhodka run 7 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Nakhodka rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Nakhodka

On 100 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Nakhodka while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in July (31 days); for example, on 15 May 2027 it happens at 19:29 local time.

On 240 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 March (31 days), for instance on 1 March 2027 at 08:32.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Nakhodka: at 19:18 and 19:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Nakhodka compared with other cities

Compared with Moscow, 6,494 km away, the Qibla in Nakhodka is turned 111.6° further clockwise (288.0° against 176.4°), and Mecca is 4,828 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Artyom (82 km), prays towards 287.4°, a difference of 0.6°.

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 Nakhodka

• Artyom287.4° · 82 km
• Vladivostok287.3° · 90 km
• Ussuriysk287.2° · 132 km
• Khabarovsk288.3° · 647 km
• Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk293.9° · 897 km
• Komsomolsk-on-Amur289.2° · 912 km