Qibla direction in Makumbako

How to face the Qibla in Makumbako

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 9.1° towards east: the result is the bearing of 9.1°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at north would leave you about 9° off.

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 Makumbako, 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 Makumbako to Mecca points to 9.2°, only 0.1° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 9.1° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 9.1° obtained? From the coordinates of Makumbako (8.8500° S, 34.8333° 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 Makumbako to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 3,410 km from Makumbako as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,741 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 31 min, although most pilgrims from Makumbako connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Makumbako 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 Makumbako rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Makumbako

On 232 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Makumbako while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 1 March 2027 it happens at 12:52 local time.

On 132 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 12:54.

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

Makumbako compared with other cities

Compared with Dodoma, 314 km away, the Qibla in Makumbako is turned 1.0° further clockwise (9.1° against 8.2°), and Mecca is 309 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Katumba (140 km), prays towards 11.2°, a difference of 2.0°.

Across the 34 cities in Tanzania on this site, the Qibla ranges from 1.1° in Dar es Salaam to 359.4° in Mtwara, a spread of 358.3°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Tanzania.

Qibla in cities near Makumbako

• Katumba11.2° · 140 km
• Mbeya11.6° · 152 km
• Iringa7.8° · 154 km
• Ifakara5.9° · 219 km
• Songea7.3° · 223 km
• Tunduma12.7° · 232 km