Qibla direction in Anaco

How to face the Qibla in Anaco

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 23.8° towards north: the result is the bearing of 66.2°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 24° off.

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 Anaco, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its 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

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Anaco to Mecca points to 83.2° (east), a full 17.0° away from the true Qibla of 66.2° (north-east). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 159 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Anaco first heads north-east, and that is the direction to face.

How is the figure of 66.2° obtained? From the coordinates of Anaco (9.4296° N, 64.4643° W) 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 Anaco to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 11,075 km from Anaco as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 10,970 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 13 h 32 min, although most pilgrims from Anaco connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Anaco run 7 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Anaco rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Anaco

On 136 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Anaco while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (31 days); for example, on 15 April 2027 it happens at 12:14 local time.

On 202 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 March (31 days), for instance on 15 January 2027 at 17:24.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Anaco (05:18 and 05:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 13 January 2027 at 17:29 and 28 November 2027 at 17:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Anaco points straight to Mecca.

Anaco compared with other cities

Compared with Caracas, 289 km away, the Qibla in Anaco is turned 0.8° further clockwise (66.2° against 65.4°), and Mecca is 193 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, El Tigre (64 km), prays towards 66.3°, a difference of 0.1°.

Across the 47 cities in Venezuela on this site, the Qibla ranges from 63.9° in Machiques to 66.8° in Upata, a spread of 2.9°. The difference is small, yet each city should still use its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Venezuela.

Qibla in cities near Anaco

• El Tigre66.3° · 64 km
• Barcelona, Anzoátegui, Venezuela66.0° · 83 km
• Cumaná66.1° · 119 km
• Maturín66.4° · 145 km
• Valle de La Pascua65.9° · 171 km
• Ciudad Bolívar66.6° · 177 km