Qibla direction in Cherkasy

How to face the Qibla in Cherkasy

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 15.2° towards east: the result is the bearing of 164.8°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 15° 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 Cherkasy, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of a local mosque 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 Cherkasy to Mecca points to 167.5° (south), 2.7° away from the correct 164.8°. 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 164.8° is the direction in which the shortest route from 49.4445° N, 32.0574° 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 Cherkasy to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 3,190 km from Cherkasy as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,854 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 15 min, although most pilgrims from Cherkasy connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Cherkasy run 1 hour behind Mecca in winter and the same time as Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Cherkasy rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Cherkasy

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Cherkasy 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 10:52 local time.

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

Cherkasy compared with other cities

Compared with Kyiv, 157 km away, the Qibla in Cherkasy is turned 2.4° further clockwise (164.8° against 162.5°), and Mecca is 139 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Kropyvnytskyi (105 km), prays towards 164.8°, a difference of 0.1°.

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 Cherkasy

• Kropyvnytskyi164.8° · 105 km
• Kremenchuk167.2° · 107 km
• Bila Tserkva161.3° · 145 km
• Brovary163.0° · 149 km
• Kyiv162.5° · 157 km
• Poltava169.7° · 181 km