Qibla · Catalonia
Qibla direction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
To face the Kaaba in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, turn to 110.5° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (20.5° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,160 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 110.5°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 111°; 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 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 20.5° towards south: the result is the bearing of 110.5°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 21° 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. The simplest check in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. 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 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain to Mecca points to 122.1° (south-east), 11.5° away from the correct 110.5°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 22 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 41.3888° N, 2.1590° 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 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,160 km from Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,927 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 24 min, although most pilgrims from Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain 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 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
On 255 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 15 February 2027 it happens at 08:12 local time.
On 84 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 July (31 days), for instance on 15 May 2027 at 20:27.
| 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 | 08:12 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 08:32 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 08:50 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 10:11 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 10:29 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 10:48 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:05 | 20:27 |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:22 | 20:13 |
| 15 June 2027 | 11:31 | 20:09 |
| 1 July 2027 | 11:33 | 20:14 |
| 15 July 2027 | 11:27 | 20:24 |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:11 | 20:41 |
| 15 August 2027 | 10:51 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 10:23 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 09:57 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 09:27 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 09:02 | — |
| 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 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain compared with other cities
Compared with Madrid, 504 km away, the Qibla in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain is turned 6.6° further clockwise (110.5° against 104.0°), and Mecca is 439 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Terrassa (23 km), prays towards 110.6°, a difference of 0.1°.
Across the 49 cities in Spain on this site, the Qibla ranges from 84.6° in Santa Cruz de Tenerife to 112.0° in Girona, a spread of 27.4°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Spain.
Qibla in cities near Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Qibla in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain?
It is 110.5° from true north, which is east: 20.5° south of east.
How far is Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from Mecca?
4,160 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,927 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain?
On 255 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 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 122.1°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain at 110.5°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 110.5° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.