Qibla · Bangkok
Qibla direction in Sai Mai
To face the Kaaba in Sai Mai, turn to 286.8° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (16.8° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 6,461 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Sai Mai should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 286.8°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 287°; 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 Sai Mai
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 16.8° towards north: the result is the bearing of 286.8°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 17° 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. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Sai Mai to Mecca points to 277.4° (west), 9.4° away from the correct 286.8°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 31 km longer than the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.
The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 13.9207° N, 100.6455° 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 Sai Mai to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 6,461 km from Sai Mai as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 6,468 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 8 h 06 min, although most pilgrims from Sai Mai connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Sai Mai run 4 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Sai Mai rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Sai Mai
On 65 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Sai Mai while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (29 days); for example, on 1 May 2027 it happens at 12:30 local time.
On 160 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 March (31 days), for instance on 15 February 2027 at 07:38.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 07:38 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 08:36 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 09:29 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 10:32 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 11:25 |
| 1 May 2027 | 12:30 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 13:36 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 15:21 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 13:30 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 12:25 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 11:10 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 10:10 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 09:02 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 08:02 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 06:48 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Sai Mai: at 16:18 and 16:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Sai Mai compared with other cities
The Qibla here is practically the same as in Bangkok (286.9°), and Mecca is 10 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Pak Kret (16 km), prays towards 286.8°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.
Across the 27 cities in Thailand on this site, the Qibla ranges from 283.5° in Chiang Mai to 290.7° in Hat Yai, a spread of 7.2°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Thailand.
Qibla in cities near Sai Mai
- Pak Kret286.8° · 16 km
- Khlong Luang286.7° · 16 km
- Bang Kapi286.9° · 17 km
- Bangkok286.9° · 24 km
- Nong Chok286.8° · 24 km
- Lat Krabang286.9° · 27 km
Qibla in Sai Mai: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Sai Mai?
It is 286.8° from true north, which is west: 16.8° north of west.
How far is Sai Mai from Mecca?
6,461 km in a straight line over the globe, and 6,468 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Sai Mai?
On 65 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.
Why is the Qibla in Sai Mai not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 277.4°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Sai Mai at 286.8°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 286.8° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.