Qibla direction in Ryazan

How to face the Qibla in Ryazan

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 0.2° towards east: the result is the bearing of 179.8°. The direction is close to due south, which makes it easy to remember.

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 Ryazan, 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Ryazan to Mecca points to 179.8°, only 0.0° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 179.8° bearing remains the exact one.

The value of 179.8° is the direction in which the shortest route from 54.6270° N, 39.7042° 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 Ryazan to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 3,692 km from Ryazan as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,354 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 51 min, although most pilgrims from Ryazan connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Ryazan 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 Ryazan rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Ryazan

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Ryazan 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 12:24 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Ryazan during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Ryazan: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Ryazan compared with other cities

Compared with Moscow, 182 km away, the Qibla in Ryazan is turned 3.4° further clockwise (179.8° against 176.4°), and Mecca is 129 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Kolomna (77 km), prays towards 178.2°, a difference of 1.5°.

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 Ryazan

• Kolomna178.2° · 77 km
• Novomoskovsk177.3° · 114 km
• Orekhovo-Zuyevo178.6° · 139 km
• Tula176.2° · 143 km
• Serpukhov175.9° · 150 km
• Elektrostal177.7° · 151 km