Qibla · Sousse Governorate
Qibla direction in Sousse
To face the Kaaba in Sousse, turn to 111.6° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (21.6° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,249 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Sousse should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 111.6°, the Qibla of Sousse. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 112° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Sousse
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 21.6° towards south: the result is the bearing of 111.6°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 22° 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 Sousse, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Sousse 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Sousse to Mecca points to 119.4° (south-east), 7.9° away from the correct 111.6°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 8 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.
How is the figure of 111.6° obtained? From the coordinates of Sousse (35.8254° N, 10.6370° 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 Sousse to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,249 km from Sousse as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,044 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 19 min, although most pilgrims from Sousse connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Sousse run 2 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Sousse rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Sousse
On 269 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Sousse 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 15 February 2027 it happens at 07:48 local time.
On 69 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 June (30 days), for instance on 1 June 2027 at 18:40.
| 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 | 07:48 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 08:11 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 08:33 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 08:58 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 09:19 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 09:43 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 10:02 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:22 | 18:40 |
| 15 June 2027 | 10:33 | 18:36 |
| 1 July 2027 | 10:35 | 18:40 |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:27 | 18:52 |
| 1 August 2027 | 10:08 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 09:45 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 09:12 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 08:43 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 08:09 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 07:40 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 07:09 | — |
| 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 Sousse: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Sousse compared with other cities
Compared with Tunis, 118 km away, the Qibla in Sousse is turned 1.1° further anticlockwise (111.6° against 112.7°), and Mecca is 81 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Kairouan (51 km), prays towards 110.7°, a difference of 0.8°.
Across the 7 cities in Tunisia on this site, the Qibla ranges from 107.7° in Gabès to 113.1° in Bizerte, a spread of 5.3°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Tunisia.
Qibla in cities near Sousse
Qibla in Sousse: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Sousse?
It is 111.6° from true north, which is east: 21.6° south of east.
How far is Sousse from Mecca?
3,249 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,044 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Sousse?
On 269 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 Sousse not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 119.4°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Sousse at 111.6°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 111.6° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.