Qibla direction in Ağrı

How to face the Qibla in Ağrı

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 9.5° towards west: the result is the bearing of 189.5°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south 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 Ağrı, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Ağrı 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Ağrı to Mecca points to 188.5°, only 0.9° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 189.5° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 189.5° obtained? From the coordinates of Ağrı (39.7147° N, 43.0402° 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 Ağrı to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,057 km from Ağrı as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,726 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 55 min, although most pilgrims from Ağrı connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Ağrı 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 Ağrı rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Ağrı

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Ağrı 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 12:48 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Ağrı during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.

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

Ağrı compared with other cities

Compared with Ankara, 870 km away, the Qibla in Ağrı is turned 29.3° further clockwise (189.5° against 160.1°), and Mecca is 104 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Iğdır (89 km), prays towards 192.2°, a difference of 2.8°.

Across the 85 cities in Türkiye on this site, the Qibla ranges from 143.7° in Izmir to 192.2° in Iğdır, a spread of 48.6°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Türkiye.

Qibla in cities near Ağrı

• Iğdır192.2° · 89 km
• Van191.2° · 139 km
• Erzurum184.3° · 152 km
• Siirt186.9° · 220 km
• Bingoel182.1° · 238 km
• Rize181.9° · 258 km