Qibla · Smolensk Oblast
Qibla direction in Smolensk
To face the Kaaba in Smolensk, turn to 166.9° measured clockwise from true north, which is south (13.1° east of south). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,766 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Smolensk should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 166.9°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 167°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Smolensk
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 13.1° towards east: the result is the bearing of 166.9°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 13° off.
Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Smolensk to Mecca points to 169.9° (south), 3.0° away from the correct 166.9°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 1 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.
The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 54.7783° N, 32.0509° E to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.
Distance from Smolensk to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,766 km from Smolensk as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,428 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 56 min, although most pilgrims from Smolensk connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Smolensk 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 Smolensk rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Smolensk
On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Smolensk 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 11:59 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Smolensk 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 | 11:59 | — |
| 15 January 2027 | 12:06 | — |
| 1 February 2027 | 12:13 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 12:16 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 12:17 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 12:17 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 12:15 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:14 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 12:14 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 12:16 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 12:19 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:22 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 12:26 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 12:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 12:25 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 12:21 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:13 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 12:06 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 11:57 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 11:50 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 11:45 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 11:43 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | 11:46 | — |
| 15 December 2027 | 11:51 | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Smolensk: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Smolensk compared with other cities
Compared with Moscow, 369 km away, the Qibla in Smolensk is turned 9.4° further anticlockwise (166.9° against 176.4°), and Mecca is 56 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Velikiye Luki (198 km), prays towards 165.0°, a difference of 1.9°.
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 Smolensk
Qibla in Smolensk: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Smolensk?
It is 166.9° from true north, which is south: 13.1° east of south.
How far is Smolensk from Mecca?
3,766 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,428 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Smolensk?
On 365 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.
Is the Qibla the same everywhere in Russia?
No. It ranges from 148.7° to 305.3° across the country, so each city has its own bearing.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 166.9° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.