Qibla direction in Iğdır

How to face the Qibla in Iğdır

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 12.2° towards west: the result is the bearing of 192.2°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 12° 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. The simplest check in Iğdır is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Iğdır. 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Iğdır to Mecca points to 191.0°, only 1.2° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 192.2° bearing remains the exact one.

The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 39.9237° N, 44.0450° 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 Iğdır to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,096 km from Iğdır as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,768 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 58 min, although most pilgrims from Iğdır connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Iğdır 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 Iğdır rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Iğdır

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Iğdır 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 12:55 local time.

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

Iğdır compared with other cities

Compared with Ankara, 954 km away, the Qibla in Iğdır is turned 32.1° further clockwise (192.2° against 160.1°), and Mecca is 65 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Ağrı (89 km), prays towards 189.5°, a difference of 2.8°.

Among the 85 cities in Türkiye on this site, Iğdır has the largest Qibla bearing; the smallest is 143.7° in Izmir. Across the country the direction varies by 48.6°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Türkiye.

Qibla in cities near Iğdır

• Ağrı189.5° · 89 km
• Van191.2° · 169 km
• Erzurum184.3° · 236 km
• Siirt186.9° · 287 km
• Rize181.9° · 322 km
• Bingoel182.1° · 326 km