Qibla · Canary Islands
Qibla direction in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
To face the Kaaba in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, turn to 84.6° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (5.4° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 5,659 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Santa Cruz de Tenerife should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 84.6°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 85°; 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 Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 5.4° towards north: the result is the bearing of 84.6°. The direction is close to due east, which makes it easy to remember.
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 Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Mecca points to 97.9° (east), 13.3° away from the correct 84.6°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 44 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 28.4682° N, 16.2546° W 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 Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 5,659 km from Santa Cruz de Tenerife as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 5,530 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 7 h 09 min, although most pilgrims from Santa Cruz de Tenerife connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Santa Cruz de Tenerife run 3 hours behind Mecca in winter and 2 hours 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 Santa Cruz de Tenerife rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
On 154 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Santa Cruz de Tenerife 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 15 April 2027 it happens at 08:32 local time.
On 202 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 May (31 days), for instance on 15 March 2027 at 18:43.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | — | — |
| 1 March 2027 | — | — |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 18:43 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 18:50 |
| 15 April 2027 | 08:32 | 18:07 |
| 1 May 2027 | 09:13 | 17:20 |
| 15 May 2027 | 09:49 | 16:43 |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:26 | 16:09 |
| 15 June 2027 | 10:45 | 15:56 |
| 1 July 2027 | 10:46 | 16:02 |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:28 | 16:24 |
| 1 August 2027 | 09:51 | 17:03 |
| 15 August 2027 | 09:12 | 17:37 |
| 1 September 2027 | 08:21 | 18:20 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 18:54 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | — |
| 15 October 2027 | — | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Santa Cruz de Tenerife: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife compared with other cities
Compared with Madrid, 1,754 km away, the Qibla in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is turned 19.4° further anticlockwise (84.6° against 104.0°), and Mecca is 1,061 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (92 km), prays towards 84.6°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.
Among the 49 cities in Spain on this site, Santa Cruz de Tenerife has the smallest Qibla bearing; the largest is 112.0° in Girona. Across the country the direction varies by 27.4°.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Spain.
Qibla in cities near Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria84.6° · 92 km
- Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain97.7° · 1,293 km
- Huelva98.0° · 1,308 km
- Jerez de la Frontera98.0° · 1,315 km
- Algeciras97.9° · 1,324 km
- Seville98.8° · 1,378 km
Qibla in Santa Cruz de Tenerife: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Santa Cruz de Tenerife?
It is 84.6° from true north, which is east: 5.4° north of east.
How far is Santa Cruz de Tenerife from Mecca?
5,659 km in a straight line over the globe, and 5,530 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Santa Cruz de Tenerife?
On 154 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.
Why is the Qibla in Santa Cruz de Tenerife not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 97.9°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Santa Cruz de Tenerife at 84.6°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 84.6° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.