Qibla direction in Erzincan

How to face the Qibla in Erzincan

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 1.0° towards east: the result is the bearing of 179.0°. The direction is close to due south, which makes it easy to remember.

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 Erzincan, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Erzincan 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 Erzincan to Mecca points to 179.1°, only 0.1° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 179.0° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 179.0° obtained? From the coordinates of Erzincan (39.7392° N, 39.4902° 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 Erzincan to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,037 km from Erzincan as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,698 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 54 min, although most pilgrims from Erzincan connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Erzincan 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 Erzincan rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Erzincan

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Erzincan 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 12:22 local time.

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

Erzincan compared with other cities

Compared with Ankara, 567 km away, the Qibla in Erzincan is turned 18.9° further clockwise (179.0° against 160.1°), and Mecca is 123 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Elâzığ (121 km), prays towards 178.1°, 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 Erzincan

• Elâzığ178.1° · 121 km
• Bingoel182.1° · 128 km
• Trabzon179.7° · 142 km
• Erzurum184.3° · 154 km
• Giresun176.0° · 161 km
• Rize181.9° · 167 km