Qibla
Find the qibla from wherever you are
The direction of the Kaaba in Makkah from your city, and how far away it is. On a phone with a compass, the card turns with you.
The qibla from London
119°
from true north, roughly east-southeast. The Kaaba is 4,794 km away.
On a phone with a compass, the card can turn with you and show when you’re facing the qibla.
- No live compass? Open your phone's compass app, or hold a handheld compass flat.
- Turn until it reads 119° (east-southeast).
- That's the direction of the Kaaba from London.
Accuracy
How far to trust a phone compass
The bearing itself is exact: it's the shortest path over the globe from your coordinates to the Kaaba. That's why it points north-east from North America rather than the south-east a flat map suggests. The weak link is the compass in your hand.
Calibrate first
Phone compasses drift. If the needle looks wrong or jumpy, move the phone in a slow figure of eight a few times, then try again.
Keep away from metal and magnets
Steel desks, cars, radiators, speakers and magnetic phone cases or mounts can pull a compass off by many degrees. Step away from them, and take the phone out of a magnetic case.
Hold it flat
A phone reads its heading best lying level, screen up. Tilted towards you, the reading can wander.
Magnetic north isn't true north
The bearing here is measured from true north, the direction of the North Pole. A compass points to magnetic north, which sits a few degrees to one side in most places and more than 10° in parts of North America and Australia. We don't correct for that difference, so if you know your local value (your 'magnetic declination'), allow for it, or switch your compass app to true north if it offers that.
Check against a masjid
If there's a masjid nearby, its prayer hall was set out facing the qibla. It's the best landmark to check your compass against.
Around the world
The qibla from other cities
Degrees clockwise from true north.
| City | Qibla | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam, Netherlands | 126° SE | 4,553 km |
| Berlin, Germany | 137° SE | 4,130 km |
| Birmingham, United Kingdom | 118° ESE | 4,952 km |
| Cairo, Egypt | 136° SE | 1,287 km |
| Chicago, United States | 49° NE | 11,146 km |
| Delhi, India | 267° W | 3,835 km |
| Dhaka, Bangladesh | 278° W | 5,172 km |
| Doha, Qatar | 253° WSW | 1,269 km |
| Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 258° WSW | 1,631 km |
| Houston, United States | 45° NE | 12,574 km |
| Hyderabad, India | 283° WNW | 4,070 km |
| Istanbul, Türkiye | 152° SSE | 2,405 km |
| Jakarta, Indonesia | 295° WNW | 7,920 km |
| Johannesburg, South Africa | 15° NNE | 5,446 km |
| Karachi, Pakistan | 268° W | 2,800 km |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 293° WNW | 6,974 km |
| Lagos, Nigeria | 63° ENE | 4,251 km |
| Lahore, Pakistan | 260° W | 3,598 km |
| London, United Kingdom | 119° ESE | 4,794 km |
| Los Angeles, United States | 24° NNE | 13,424 km |
| Madinah, Saudi Arabia | 176° S | 346 km |
| Manchester, United Kingdom | 118° ESE | 5,025 km |
| Melbourne, Australia | 279° W | 12,741 km |
| New York, United States | 58° ENE | 10,306 km |
| Paris, France | 119° ESE | 4,496 km |
| Singapore, Singapore | 293° WNW | 7,269 km |
| Stockholm, Sweden | 148° SSE | 4,554 km |
| Sydney, Australia | 277° W | 13,236 km |
| Toronto, Canada | 55° NE | 10,496 km |
From the Quran
فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ ۚ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنتُمْ فَوَلُّوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُۥ
“So turn your face [i.e., yourself] toward al-Masjid al-Ḥarām. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces [i.e., yourselves] toward it [in prayer].”