Qibla direction in Luanshya

How to face the Qibla in Luanshya

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 18.1° towards east: the result is the bearing of 18.1°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at north would leave you about 18° 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 Luanshya, 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Luanshya to Mecca points to 18.0°, only 0.1° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 18.1° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 18.1° obtained? From the coordinates of Luanshya (13.1367° S, 28.4166° 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 Luanshya to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 4,040 km from Luanshya as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,354 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 15 min, although most pilgrims from Luanshya connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Luanshya run 1 hour behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Luanshya rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Luanshya

On 257 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Luanshya 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 12:20 local time.

On 108 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 January (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 12:24.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Luanshya: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Luanshya compared with other cities

Compared with Lusaka, 253 km away, the Qibla in Luanshya is turned 0.7° further clockwise (18.1° against 17.4°), and Mecca is 245 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Ndola (31 km), prays towards 17.9°, a difference of 0.3°.

Across the 16 cities in Zambia on this site, the Qibla ranges from 11.5° in Chipata to 24.5° in Mongu, a spread of 13.0°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Zambia.

Qibla in cities near Luanshya

• Ndola17.9° · 31 km
• Kitwe18.6° · 43 km
• Mufulira18.6° · 68 km
• Chingola19.2° · 89 km
• Chililabombwe19.3° · 107 km
• Kabwe17.5° · 146 km