Qibla · Qashqadaryo
Qibla direction in Qarshi
To face the Kaaba in Qarshi, turn to 239.4° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-west (30.6° south of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,141 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Qarshi should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 239.4°, the Qibla of Qarshi. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 239° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Qarshi
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 30.6° towards south: the result is the bearing of 239.4°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “west” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Qarshi.
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 Qarshi, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Qarshi is a handy reference, because the 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Qarshi to Mecca points to 232.0° (south-west), 7.4° away from the correct 239.4°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 7 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.
How is the figure of 239.4° obtained? From the coordinates of Qarshi (38.8606° N, 65.7891° 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 Qarshi to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,141 km from Qarshi as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,933 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 12 min, although most pilgrims from Qarshi connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Qarshi run 2 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Qarshi rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Qarshi
On 311 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Qarshi 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 1 February 2027 it happens at 17:02 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Qarshi during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.
| 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 | 17:02 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 16:45 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 16:24 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 16:00 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 15:31 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 15:08 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 14:45 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 14:28 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 14:16 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 14:13 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 14:17 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 14:26 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 14:42 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 14:56 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 15:14 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 15:28 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 15:45 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 16:01 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 16:21 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 16:39 | — |
| 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 Qarshi: at 14:18 and 14:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Qarshi compared with other cities
Compared with Tashkent, 396 km away, the Qibla in Qarshi is turned 0.9° further anticlockwise (239.4° against 240.3°), and Mecca is 386 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Shahrisabz (93 km), prays towards 240.5°, a difference of 1.1°.
Across the 19 cities in Uzbekistan on this site, the Qibla ranges from 224.4° in Nukus to 244.7° in Andijan, a spread of 20.4°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Uzbekistan.
Qibla in cities near Qarshi
Qibla in Qarshi: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Qarshi?
It is 239.4° from true north, which is south-west: 30.6° south of west.
How far is Qarshi from Mecca?
3,141 km in a straight line over the globe, and 2,933 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Qarshi?
On 311 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 Qarshi not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 232.0°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Qarshi at 239.4°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 239.4° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.