Qibla · Surat Thani Province
Qibla direction in Surat Thani
To face the Kaaba in Surat Thani, turn to 289.6° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (19.6° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 6,491 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Surat Thani should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 289.6°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 290°; 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 Surat Thani
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 19.6° towards north: the result is the bearing of 289.6°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 20° 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 Surat Thani to Mecca points to 282.1° (west), 7.5° away from the correct 289.6°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 23 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 9.1401° N, 99.3331° 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 Surat Thani to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 6,491 km from Surat Thani as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 6,532 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 8 h 08 min, although most pilgrims from Surat Thani connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Surat Thani 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 Surat Thani rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Surat Thani
On 91 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Surat Thani while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in August (29 days); for example, on 15 April 2027 it happens at 12:29 local time.
On 154 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 1 February 2027 at 07:33.
| 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 | — | 07:33 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 08:40 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 09:39 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 10:33 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 11:36 |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:29 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 13:35 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 14:42 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 16:41 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 14:35 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 13:29 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 12:14 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 11:14 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 10:05 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 09:05 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 07:49 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 06:42 |
| 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 Surat Thani: at 16:18 and 16:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Surat Thani compared with other cities
Compared with Bangkok, 529 km away, the Qibla in Surat Thani is turned 2.7° further clockwise (289.6° against 286.9°), and Mecca is 40 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Nakhon Si Thammarat (105 km), prays towards 290.0°, a difference of 0.4°.
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 Surat Thani
Qibla in Surat Thani: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Surat Thani?
It is 289.6° from true north, which is west: 19.6° north of west.
How far is Surat Thani from Mecca?
6,491 km in a straight line over the globe, and 6,532 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Surat Thani?
On 91 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 Surat Thani not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 282.1°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Surat Thani at 289.6°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 289.6° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.