Qibla · Principality of Asturias
Qibla direction in Gijón
To face the Kaaba in Gijón, turn to 105.6° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (15.6° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,843 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Gijón should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 105.6°, the Qibla of Gijón. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 106° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Gijón
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 15.6° towards south: the result is the bearing of 105.6°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 16° 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 Gijón, 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Gijón to Mecca points to 120.2° (south-east), 14.7° away from the correct 105.6°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 40 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.
How is the figure of 105.6° obtained? From the coordinates of Gijón (43.5357° N, 5.6615° W) 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 Gijón to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,843 km from Gijón as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,608 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 12 min, although most pilgrims from Gijón connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Gijón 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 Gijón rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Gijón
On 229 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Gijón 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 1 March 2027 it happens at 08:33 local time.
On 111 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 20:46.
| 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 | 08:33 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 08:51 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 10:12 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 10:29 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 10:49 | 20:46 |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:05 | 20:29 |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:22 | 20:15 |
| 15 June 2027 | 11:31 | 20:12 |
| 1 July 2027 | 11:33 | 20:16 |
| 15 July 2027 | 11:27 | 20:26 |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:11 | 20:43 |
| 15 August 2027 | 10:52 | 20:59 |
| 1 September 2027 | 10:24 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 09:58 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 09:28 | — |
| 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 Gijón: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Gijón compared with other cities
Compared with Madrid, 383 km away, the Qibla in Gijón is turned 1.6° further clockwise (105.6° against 104.0°), and Mecca is 245 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Oviedo (24 km), prays towards 105.2°, a difference of 0.3°.
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 Gijón
- Oviedo105.2° · 24 km
- León, Castille and León, Spain104.7° · 104 km
- Santander107.2° · 150 km
- Burgos106.1° · 208 km
- A Coruña103.0° · 221 km
- Valladolid104.4° · 223 km
Qibla in Gijón: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Gijón?
It is 105.6° from true north, which is east: 15.6° south of east.
How far is Gijón from Mecca?
4,843 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,608 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Gijón?
On 229 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 Gijón not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 120.2°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Gijón at 105.6°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 105.6° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.