Qibla direction in Niš

How to face the Qibla in Niš

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 39.9° towards east: the result is the bearing of 140.1°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “south” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Niš.

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 Niš, 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

A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Niš to Mecca points to 145.6° (south-east), 5.6° away from the correct 140.1°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 4 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.

How is the figure of 140.1° obtained? From the coordinates of Niš (43.3247° N, 21.9033° 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 Niš to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,946 km from Niš as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,647 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 3 h 58 min, although most pilgrims from Niš connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Niš run 2 hours behind Mecca in winter and 1 hour behind Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Niš rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Niš

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Niš 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 08:44 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Niš 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 Niš: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Niš compared with other cities

Compared with Belgrade, 201 km away, the Qibla in Niš is turned 0.7° further clockwise (140.1° against 139.4°), and Mecca is 200 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Kragujevac (111 km), prays towards 139.2°, a difference of 0.9°.

Among the 6 cities in Serbia on this site, Niš has the largest Qibla bearing; the smallest is 138.0° in Čačak. Across the country the direction varies by 2.0°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Serbia.

Qibla in cities near Niš

• Kragujevac139.2° · 111 km
• Čačak138.0° · 140 km
• Belgrade139.4° · 201 km
• Novi Sad138.9° · 270 km
• Subotica139.6° · 356 km