Qibla direction in Bursa

How to face the Qibla in Bursa

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 29.2° towards east: the result is the bearing of 150.8°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 29° off.

The scholars distinguish two cases: the one who sees the Kaaba aims at the building itself, while the one who cannot see it, as anywhere in Bursa, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of one of the mosques of Bursa is a quick way to confirm the result. If you travel or move house, check the angle again, since it changes from place to place.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Bursa to Mecca points to 154.0° (south-east), 3.1° away from the correct 150.8°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is not the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.

The value of 150.8° is the direction in which the shortest route from 40.1956° N, 29.0601° E sets off towards the Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. Every accurate Qibla calculator, and the plans of well-oriented mosques, arrive at the same angle for this point.

Distance from Bursa to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,323 km from Bursa as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,007 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 3 h 14 min, although most pilgrims from Bursa connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Bursa 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 Bursa rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Bursa

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Bursa 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 11:09 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Bursa 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 Bursa: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Bursa compared with other cities

Compared with Ankara, 324 km away, the Qibla in Bursa is turned 9.3° further anticlockwise (150.8° against 160.1°), and Mecca is 162 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, İnegöl (41 km), prays towards 151.8°, a difference of 0.9°.

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 Bursa

• İnegöl151.8° · 41 km
• Mustafakemalpaşa149.1° · 58 km
• Gebze152.4° · 74 km
• Sancaktepe152.2° · 91 km
• Istanbul151.6° · 91 km
• Bandırma148.5° · 94 km