Qibla direction in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

How to face the Qibla in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 12.0° towards east: the result is the bearing of 12.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at north would leave you about 12° off.

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 Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa to Mecca points to 11.0°, only 1.0° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 12.0° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 12.0° obtained? From the coordinates of Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (27.7580° S, 29.9318° 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 Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 5,571 km from Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 5,899 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 7 h 03 min, although most pilgrims from Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa run 1 hour behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 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 Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 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 Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa compared with other cities

Compared with Pretoria, 283 km away, the Qibla in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa is turned 2.5° further anticlockwise (12.0° against 14.5°), and Mecca is 178 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Vryheid (85 km), prays towards 11.0°, a difference of 1.0°.

Across the 59 cities in South Africa on this site, the Qibla ranges from 9.4° in Richards Bay to 23.4° in Cape Town, a spread of 14.0°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for South Africa.

Qibla in cities near Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

• Vryheid11.0° · 85 km
• Ladysmith12.1° · 90 km
• Standerton13.0° · 114 km
• Ermelo12.2° · 136 km
• eMbalenhle13.3° · 161 km
• Nigel14.0° · 206 km