Qibla direction in Kerch

How to face the Qibla in Kerch

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 7.7° towards east: the result is the bearing of 172.3°. 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 Kerch, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its 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 Kerch to Mecca points to 173.4°, only 1.1° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 172.3° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 172.3° obtained? From the coordinates of Kerch (45.3568° N, 36.4754° 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 Kerch to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,679 km from Kerch as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,340 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 3 h 39 min, although most pilgrims from Kerch connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Kerch 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 Kerch rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Kerch

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Kerch 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 12:06 local time.

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

Kerch compared with other cities

Compared with Kyiv, 719 km away, the Qibla in Kerch is turned 9.9° further clockwise (172.3° against 162.5°), and Mecca is 650 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Berdyansk (157 km), prays towards 173.4°, a difference of 1.1°.

Across the 40 cities in Ukraine on this site, the Qibla ranges from 146.6° in Uzhhorod to 178.9° in Luhansk, a spread of 32.4°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Ukraine.

Qibla in cities near Kerch

• Berdyansk173.4° · 157 km
• Melitopol170.4° · 186 km
• Simferopol166.8° · 191 km
• Mariupol175.1° · 210 km
• Yevpatoriya165.3° · 244 km
• Sevastopol165.3° · 247 km