Qibla direction in Hull

How to face the Qibla in Hull

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 30.8° towards south: the result is the bearing of 120.8°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Hull.

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 Hull is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Hull. 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

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Hull to Mecca points to 136.3° (south-east), a full 15.5° away from the true Qibla of 120.8° (south-east). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 41 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Hull first heads south-east, and that is the direction to face.

The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 53.7446° N, 0.3353° W 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 Hull to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 4,930 km from Hull as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,637 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 18 min, although most pilgrims from Hull connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Hull 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 Hull rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Hull

On 263 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Hull 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 08:11 local time.

On 63 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 20:30.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Hull: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Hull compared with other cities

Compared with London, England, United Kingdom, 249 km away, the Qibla in Hull is turned 1.8° further clockwise (120.8° against 119.0°), and Mecca is 136 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, York (54 km), prays towards 120.1°, a difference of 0.6°.

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 Hull

• York120.1° · 54 km
• Doncaster119.7° · 58 km
• Lincoln, England, United Kingdom120.1° · 59 km
• Leeds119.5° · 80 km
• Sheffield119.2° · 85 km
• Mansfield119.3° · 89 km