Qibla · Damascus Governorate
Qibla direction in Damascus
To face the Kaaba in Damascus, turn to 164.6° measured clockwise from true north, which is south (15.4° east of south). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 1,388 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Damascus should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 164.6°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 165°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Damascus
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 15.4° towards east: the result is the bearing of 164.6°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 15° off.
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 Damascus is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Damascus. 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 Damascus to Mecca points to 165.5°, only 0.9° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 164.6° bearing remains the exact one.
The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 33.5102° N, 36.2913° 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 Damascus to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 1,388 km from Damascus as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,056 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Damascus travel to the Hijaz by road.
Clocks in Damascus 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 Damascus rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Damascus
On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Damascus 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 11:42 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Damascus during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | 11:42 | — |
| 15 January 2027 | 11:49 | — |
| 1 February 2027 | 11:58 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 12:03 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 12:06 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 12:07 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 12:08 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:09 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 12:11 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 12:14 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 12:19 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:23 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 12:26 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 12:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 12:24 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 12:18 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:08 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 11:58 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 11:47 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 11:38 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 11:30 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 11:27 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | 11:28 | — |
| 15 December 2027 | 11:33 | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Damascus: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Damascus compared with other cities
The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Homs (141 km), prays towards 167.6°, a difference of 3.0°.
Across the 12 cities in Syria on this site, the Qibla ranges from 164.6° in Tartus to 184.8° in Al-Qamishli, a spread of 20.3°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Syria.
Qibla in cities near Damascus
Qibla in Damascus: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Damascus?
It is 164.6° from true north, which is south: 15.4° east of south.
How far is Damascus from Mecca?
1,388 km in a straight line over the globe, and 1,056 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Damascus?
On 365 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 Syria?
No. It ranges from 164.6° to 184.8° across the country, so each city has its own bearing.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 164.6° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.