Qibla · England
Qibla direction in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
To face the Kaaba in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom, turn to 119.9° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-east (29.9° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,817 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 119.9°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 120°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 29.9° towards south: the result is the bearing of 119.9°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 30° 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 Cambridge, England, United Kingdom is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Cambridge, England, United Kingdom. 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Cambridge, England, United Kingdom to Mecca points to 134.8° (south-east), 14.9° away from the correct 119.9°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 37 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 angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 52.2000° N, 0.1167° 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 Cambridge, England, United Kingdom to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,817 km from Cambridge, England, United Kingdom as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,529 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 10 min, although most pilgrims from Cambridge, England, United Kingdom connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom run 3 hours behind Mecca in winter and 2 hours behind 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 Cambridge, England, United Kingdom rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
On 269 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Cambridge, England, United Kingdom while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 15 February 2027 it happens at 08:05 local time.
On 52 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in June (30 days), for instance on 1 June 2027 at 20:23.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 08:05 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 08:17 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 08:27 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 09:39 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 09:49 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 10:00 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 10:10 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:20 | 20:23 |
| 15 June 2027 | 10:27 | 20:22 |
| 1 July 2027 | 10:30 | 20:26 |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:27 | 20:33 |
| 1 August 2027 | 10:17 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 10:04 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 09:45 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 09:27 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 09:06 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 08:48 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 07:30 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Cambridge, England, United Kingdom compared with other cities
Compared with London, England, United Kingdom, 79 km away, the Qibla in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom is turned 0.9° further clockwise (119.9° against 119.0°), and Mecca is 23 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Bedford (40 km), prays towards 119.2°, a difference of 0.7°.
Across the 75 cities in the United Kingdom on this site, the Qibla ranges from 113.7° in Plymouth, England, United Kingdom to 121.7° in Aberdeen, a spread of 8.0°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for United Kingdom.
Qibla in cities near Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
- Bedford119.2° · 40 km
- Peterborough119.8° · 48 km
- Luton119.0° · 51 km
- Chelmsford119.9° · 57 km
- Milton Keynes118.8° · 62 km
- Enfield119.2° · 63 km
Qibla in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom?
It is 119.9° from true north, which is south-east: 29.9° south of east.
How far is Cambridge, England, United Kingdom from Mecca?
4,817 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,529 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom?
On 269 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Why is the Qibla in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 134.8°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Cambridge, England, United Kingdom at 119.9°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 119.9° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.