Qibla · Ca Mau
Qibla direction in Bạc Liêu
To face the Kaaba in Bạc Liêu, turn to 289.4° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (19.4° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 7,147 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Bạc Liêu should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 289.4°, the Qibla of Bạc Liêu. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 289° 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 Bạc Liêu
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 19.4° towards north: the result is the bearing of 289.4°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 19° 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 Bạc Liêu, 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Bạc Liêu to Mecca points to 280.8° (west), 8.6° away from the correct 289.4°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 32 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 289.4° obtained? From the coordinates of Bạc Liêu (9.2941° N, 105.7278° 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 Bạc Liêu to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 7,147 km from Bạc Liêu as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 7,172 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 8 h 54 min, although most pilgrims from Bạc Liêu connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Bạc Liêu run 4 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Bạc Liêu rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Bạc Liêu
On 87 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Bạc Liêu while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in August (28 days); for example, on 15 April 2027 it happens at 12:02 local time.
On 152 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 1 February 2027 at 07:03.
| 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 | — | 07:03 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 08:11 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 09:10 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 10:04 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 11:08 |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:02 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 13:08 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 14:16 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | — | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 14:09 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 13:02 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 11:47 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 10:46 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 09:37 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 08:36 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 07:20 |
| 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 Bạc Liêu: at 16:18 and 16:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Bạc Liêu compared with other cities
Compared with Hanoi, 1,304 km away, the Qibla in Bạc Liêu is turned 5.8° further clockwise (289.4° against 283.6°), and Mecca is 360 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Vĩnh Châu (28 km), prays towards 289.4°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.
Across the 98 cities in Vietnam on this site, the Qibla ranges from 282.3° in Lao Cai to 289.4° in Ca Mau, a spread of 7.2°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Vietnam.
Qibla in cities near Bạc Liêu
Qibla in Bạc Liêu: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Bạc Liêu?
It is 289.4° from true north, which is west: 19.4° north of west.
How far is Bạc Liêu from Mecca?
7,147 km in a straight line over the globe, and 7,172 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Bạc Liêu?
On 87 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 Bạc Liêu not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 280.8°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Bạc Liêu at 289.4°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 289.4° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.