How to find the Qibla from anywhere in the world
The Qibla is the direction you face in prayer, toward the Kaaba in Makkah. Here's how to find it, wherever you are.
Five times a day, more than a billion people turn to face the same small point on the map: the Kaaba, at the centre of the Sacred Mosque in Makkah. That direction is the Qibla. In a mosque it is marked for you by the mihrab, but travelling, moving to a new city, or simply praying in a hotel room, you often have to find it yourself — and it is easier than most people expect.
Why the Qibla isn't always "toward the south-east"
Here is the part that surprises people. The Qibla is the shortest path to Makkah across a round earth — a "great circle" — not a straight line drawn on a flat map. Because the earth curves, that shortest path can head off in a direction you would not guess. From much of North America the Qibla actually points north-east, not south-east; from northern Europe it leans south-east. So if a compass tells you something that feels wrong, it is usually the flat map in your head that is off, not the compass.
The easiest way to find it
The simplest method today is your phone. The Qibla tool on this site uses your location to give you the exact bearing to Makkah in degrees, along with the distance, so you can line it up with a compass. A couple of tips: calibrate your phone's compass first (that little figure-of-eight motion), and remember that a compass points to magnetic north, which can sit a few degrees off from true north depending on where you are — for prayer, getting within a few degrees is perfectly fine.
Finding it without a phone
If you have no signal or no device, you can still find the Qibla. Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, and on those days the sun's direction is the Qibla for the whole world for a few minutes. Day to day, though, the easiest offline trick is to note the direction of a nearby mosque, or ask someone local. The direction matters — but so does the intention behind it: do your honest best to face it, and your prayer is accepted.
Find the Qibla direction from your exact location, check your prayer times, and save the monthly timetable for your city.