Qibla direction in Ourense

How to face the Qibla in Ourense

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 12.5° towards south: the result is the bearing of 102.5°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 12° off.

The scholars distinguish two cases: the one who sees the Kaaba aims at the building itself, while the one who cannot see it, as anywhere in Ourense, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of a local mosque is a quick way to confirm the result. If you travel or move house, check the angle again, since it changes from place to place.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Ourense to Mecca points to 117.5° (south-east), a full 15.1° away from the true Qibla of 102.5° (east). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 43 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Ourense first heads east, and that is the direction to face.

The value of 102.5° is the direction in which the shortest route from 42.3367° N, 7.8641° W sets off towards the Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. Every accurate Qibla calculator, and the plans of well-oriented mosques, arrive at the same angle for this point.

Distance from Ourense to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 4,985 km from Ourense as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,759 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 22 min, although most pilgrims from Ourense connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Ourense 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 Ourense rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Ourense

On 219 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Ourense 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 March 2027 it happens at 08:44 local time.

On 125 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 1 May 2027 at 20:35.

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

Ourense compared with other cities

Compared with Madrid, 408 km away, the Qibla in Ourense is turned 1.5° further anticlockwise (102.5° against 104.0°), and Mecca is 387 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Vigo (72 km), prays towards 101.6°, a difference of 0.8°.

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 Ourense

• Vigo101.6° · 72 km
• A Coruña103.0° · 123 km
• León, Castille and León, Spain104.7° · 190 km
• Oviedo105.2° · 200 km
• Gijón105.6° · 223 km
• Salamanca, Castille and León, Spain102.9° · 238 km