Qibla direction in Kyzyl

How to face the Qibla in Kyzyl

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 14.5° towards south: the result is the bearing of 255.5°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 15° 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 Kyzyl, 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 Kyzyl to Mecca points to 234.7° (south-west), a full 20.8° away from the true Qibla of 255.5° (west). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 86 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Kyzyl first heads west, and that is the direction to face.

The value of 255.5° is the direction in which the shortest route from 51.7111° N, 94.4378° 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 Kyzyl to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 5,741 km from Kyzyl as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 5,500 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 7 h 15 min, although most pilgrims from Kyzyl connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Kyzyl 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 Kyzyl rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Kyzyl

On 216 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Kyzyl 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 17:45 local time.

On 124 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 06:12.

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

Kyzyl compared with other cities

Compared with Moscow, 3,658 km away, the Qibla in Kyzyl is turned 79.1° further clockwise (255.5° against 176.4°), and Mecca is 1,919 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Abakan (301 km), prays towards 251.1°, a difference of 4.4°.

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 Kyzyl

• Abakan251.1° · 301 km
• Mezhdurechensk247.8° · 482 km
• Krasnoyarsk250.8° · 491 km
• Kansk253.3° · 506 km
• Novokuznetsk246.8° · 541 km
• Achinsk248.2° · 568 km