Qibla · Southern Darfur
Qibla direction in Gereida
To face the Kaaba in Gereida, turn to 52.3° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-east (37.7° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 1,929 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Gereida should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 52.3°, the Qibla of Gereida. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 52° 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 Gereida
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 37.7° towards north: the result is the bearing of 52.3°. 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 Gereida.
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 Gereida, 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
On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Gereida to Mecca points to 54.2°, only 1.9° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 52.3° bearing remains the exact one.
How is the figure of 52.3° obtained? From the coordinates of Gereida (11.2754° N, 25.1403° 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 Gereida to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 1,929 km from Gereida as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,117 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 46 min, although most pilgrims from Gereida connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Gereida 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 Gereida rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Gereida
On 126 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Gereida 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 1 May 2027 it happens at 11:56 local time.
On 239 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 15:26.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 15:26 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 15:19 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 14:59 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 14:35 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 14:06 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 13:36 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 12:58 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 12:27 |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:56 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:33 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:14 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 11:09 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 11:13 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 11:26 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:48 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 12:09 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 12:35 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 12:57 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 13:22 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 13:45 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 14:14 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 14:38 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 15:03 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 15:19 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Gereida: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Gereida compared with other cities
Compared with Khartoum, 930 km away, the Qibla in Gereida is turned 3.8° further clockwise (52.3° against 48.6°), and Mecca is 920 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Nyala (91 km), prays towards 54.8°, a difference of 2.4°.
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 Gereida
Qibla in Gereida: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Gereida?
It is 52.3° from true north, which is north-east: 37.7° north of east.
How far is Gereida from Mecca?
1,929 km in a straight line over the globe, and 2,117 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Gereida?
On 126 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.
Is the Qibla the same everywhere in Sudan?
No. It ranges from 27.8° to 61.9° across the country, so each city has its own bearing.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 52.3° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.