Qibla direction in Zhytomyr

How to face the Qibla in Zhytomyr

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 21.0° towards east: the result is the bearing of 159.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 21° 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 Zhytomyr, 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 Zhytomyr to Mecca points to 163.0° (south), 4.0° away from the correct 159.0°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 2 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.

The value of 159.0° is the direction in which the shortest route from 50.2624° N, 28.6791° 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 Zhytomyr to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 3,352 km from Zhytomyr as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,019 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 27 min, although most pilgrims from Zhytomyr connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Zhytomyr 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 Zhytomyr rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Zhytomyr

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Zhytomyr 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 10:40 local time.

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

Zhytomyr compared with other cities

Compared with Kyiv, 133 km away, the Qibla in Zhytomyr is turned 3.5° further anticlockwise (159.0° against 162.5°), and Mecca is 23 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Bila Tserkva (115 km), prays towards 161.3°, a difference of 2.3°.

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 Zhytomyr

• Bila Tserkva161.3° · 115 km
• Vinnytsia158.0° · 116 km
• Kyiv162.5° · 133 km
• Brovary163.0° · 152 km
• Khmelnytskyi155.4° · 154 km
• Rivne154.9° · 177 km