Qibla · Nghệ An Province
Qibla direction in Vinh
To face the Kaaba in Vinh, turn to 284.8° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (14.8° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 6,836 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Vinh should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 284.8°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 285°; 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 Vinh
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 14.8° towards north: the result is the bearing of 284.8°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 15° 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. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. 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 Vinh to Mecca points to 272.5° (west), 12.2° away from the correct 284.8°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 50 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 18.6734° N, 105.6923° 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 Vinh to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 6,836 km from Vinh as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 6,802 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 8 h 33 min, although most pilgrims from Vinh connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Vinh 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 Vinh rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Vinh
On 102 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Vinh while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in July (31 days); for example, on 15 May 2027 it happens at 11:56 local time.
On 179 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 February 2027 at 06:44.
| 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 | — | 06:44 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 07:35 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 08:23 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 09:20 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 10:07 |
| 1 May 2027 | — | 11:03 |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:56 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 13:03 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 13:54 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 13:47 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 12:59 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 17:30 | 11:54 |
| 15 August 2027 | — | 11:00 |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 09:54 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 09:00 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 07:57 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 07:03 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 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 Vinh: at 16:18 and 16:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Vinh compared with other cities
Compared with Hanoi, 262 km away, the Qibla in Vinh is turned 1.2° further clockwise (284.8° against 283.6°), and Mecca is 49 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Ha Tinh (43 km), prays towards 285.0°, a difference of 0.2°.
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 Vinh
Qibla in Vinh: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Vinh?
It is 284.8° from true north, which is west: 14.8° north of west.
How far is Vinh from Mecca?
6,836 km in a straight line over the globe, and 6,802 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Vinh?
On 102 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 Vinh not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 272.5°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Vinh at 284.8°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 284.8° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.