Qibla direction in Al-Qamishli

How to face the Qibla in Al-Qamishli

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 4.8° towards west: the result is the bearing of 184.8°. The direction is close to due south, which makes it easy to remember.

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 Al-Qamishli, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Al-Qamishli 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 Al-Qamishli to Mecca points to 184.5°, only 0.4° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 184.8° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 184.8° obtained? From the coordinates of Al-Qamishli (37.0522° N, 41.2314° 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 Al-Qamishli to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,743 km from Al-Qamishli as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,408 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 33 min, although most pilgrims from Al-Qamishli connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Al-Qamishli run the same time as Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Al-Qamishli rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Al-Qamishli

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Al-Qamishli while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in January (31 days); for example, on 1 January 2027 it happens at 12:37 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Al-Qamishli during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Al-Qamishli: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Al-Qamishli compared with other cities

Compared with Damascus, 597 km away, the Qibla in Al-Qamishli is turned 20.2° further clockwise (184.8° against 164.6°), and Mecca is 355 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Al-Hasakah (75 km), prays towards 183.3°, a difference of 1.6°.

Among the 12 cities in Syria on this site, Al-Qamishli has the largest Qibla bearing; the smallest is 164.6° in Tartus. Across the country the direction varies by 20.3°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Syria.

Qibla in cities near Al-Qamishli

• Al-Hasakah183.3° · 75 km
• Dayr az Zawr181.2° · 214 km
• Raqqa177.0° · 233 km
• Al Bāb171.7° · 340 km
• Aleppo170.3° · 375 km
• Idlib168.3° · 429 km