Qibla direction in Yei

How to face the Qibla in Yei

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 26.4° towards east: the result is the bearing of 26.4°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at north would leave you about 26° 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 Yei, 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 Yei to Mecca points to 27.2°, only 0.8° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 26.4° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 26.4° obtained? From the coordinates of Yei (4.0944° N, 30.6764° 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 Yei to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,165 km from Yei as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,459 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 3 h 03 min, although most pilgrims from Yei connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Yei 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 Yei rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Yei

On 166 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Yei 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 1 April 2027 it happens at 12:00 local time.

On 199 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 January (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 12:57.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Yei: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Yei compared with other cities

Compared with Juba, 131 km away, the Qibla in Yei is turned 1.3° further clockwise (26.4° against 25.0°), and Mecca is 119 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Juba (131 km), prays towards 25.0°, a difference of 1.3°.

Across the 5 cities in South Sudan on this site, the Qibla ranges from 25.0° in Juba to 42.2° in Winejok, a spread of 17.1°. 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 Sudan.

Qibla in cities near Yei

• Juba25.0° · 131 km
• Wau38.5° · 499 km
• Malakal32.5° · 614 km
• Winejok42.2° · 645 km