Qibla direction in Port Sudan

How to face the Qibla in Port Sudan

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 36.9° towards north: the result is the bearing of 53.1°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Port Sudan.

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 Port Sudan, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Port Sudan is a handy reference, because the 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 Port Sudan to Mecca points to 53.6°, only 0.5° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 53.1° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 53.1° obtained? From the coordinates of Port Sudan (19.6175° N, 37.2164° 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 Port Sudan to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 338 km from Port Sudan as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 593 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Port Sudan travel to the Hijaz by road.

Clocks in Port Sudan 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 Port Sudan rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Port Sudan

On 68 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Port Sudan while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in June (30 days); for example, on 1 June 2027 it happens at 11:15 local time.

On 297 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 15:07.

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

Port Sudan compared with other cities

Compared with Khartoum, 671 km away, the Qibla in Port Sudan is turned 4.5° further clockwise (53.1° against 48.6°), and Mecca is 671 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Atbara (401 km), prays towards 55.0°, a difference of 1.9°.

Across the 18 cities in Sudan on this site, the Qibla ranges from 27.8° in Ad-Damazin to 61.9° in Geneina, a spread of 34.1°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Sudan.

Qibla in cities near Port Sudan

• Atbara55.0° · 401 km
• Kassala28.0° · 471 km
• Gedaref29.2° · 651 km
• Khartoum48.6° · 671 km
• Wad Madani39.6° · 701 km
• Al Manāqil41.2° · 748 km