Qibla direction in Turkmenabat

How to face the Qibla in Turkmenabat

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 34.1° towards south: the result is the bearing of 235.9°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “west” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Turkmenabat.

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 Turkmenabat, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Turkmenabat 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 Turkmenabat to Mecca points to 229.1° (south-west), 6.8° away from the correct 235.9°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 6 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 235.9° obtained? From the coordinates of Turkmenabat (39.0733° N, 63.5786° 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 Turkmenabat to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,992 km from Turkmenabat as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,773 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 01 min, although most pilgrims from Turkmenabat connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Turkmenabat run 2 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Turkmenabat rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Turkmenabat

On 347 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Turkmenabat 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 17:05 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Turkmenabat 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 Turkmenabat: at 14:18 and 14:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Turkmenabat compared with other cities

Compared with Ashgabat, 469 km away, the Qibla in Turkmenabat is turned 6.6° further clockwise (235.9° against 229.3°), and Mecca is 435 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Mary (224 km), prays towards 235.8°, a difference of 0.1°.

Among the 4 cities in Turkmenistan on this site, Turkmenabat has the largest Qibla bearing; the smallest is 225.9° in Daşoguz. Across the country the direction varies by 10.1°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Turkmenistan.

Qibla in cities near Turkmenabat

• Mary235.8° · 224 km
• Daşoguz225.9° · 433 km
• Ashgabat229.3° · 469 km