Qibla direction in Atbara

How to face the Qibla in Atbara

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 35.0° towards north: the result is the bearing of 55.0°. 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 Atbara.

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 Atbara is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Atbara. 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Atbara to Mecca points to 55.9°, only 0.9° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 55.0° bearing remains the exact one.

The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 17.7022° N, 33.9864° 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 Atbara to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 738 km from Atbara as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 952 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Atbara travel to the Hijaz by road.

Clocks in Atbara 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 Atbara rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Atbara

On 84 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Atbara while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in July (31 days); for example, on 15 May 2027 it happens at 11:33 local time.

On 281 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 15:29.

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

Atbara compared with other cities

Compared with Khartoum, 285 km away, the Qibla in Atbara is turned 6.4° further clockwise (55.0° against 48.6°), and Mecca is 270 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Khartoum (285 km), prays towards 48.6°, a difference of 6.4°.

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 Atbara

• Khartoum48.6° · 285 km
• Kassala28.0° · 359 km
• Wad Madani39.6° · 370 km
• Al Manāqil41.2° · 399 km
• Port Sudan53.1° · 401 km
• Gedaref29.2° · 434 km