القبلة · The direction of the Kaaba
Cambridge prayer times: the Qibla direction
Qibla direction from Cambridge: 120° from true north (east-south-east, ESE). The Kaaba in Makkah is 4,817 km (2,993 miles) away along the shortest path over the Earth.
- Bearing
- 120°
- Distance
- 4,817 km
Facing the Qibla in Cambridge without an app
- Face north. A magnetic compass in the UK points within about two degrees of true north, close enough to use as it is.
- Turn clockwise by 120°. That points you east-south-east.
- Check it by the sunrise. On about 27 January and 15 November the sun rises almost exactly on the Qibla line from Cambridge.
- Why not south-east? The direction follows the great circle, the shortest route over the globe, so it differs from a line on a flat map. It is worked out for central Cambridge (52.2055, 0.1187); anywhere in the city it changes by far less than a degree.
A pencil, a shadow and the Cambridge Qibla
Twice a year the sun itself marks the Qibla over Cambridge. On 20 March it stands right on the Qibla line at about 08:31, and on 23 September at about 09:16. Stand a pencil upright on paper in a sunny window at that moment: its shadow points directly away from the Qibla, so the line from the shadow’s tip to the pencil is your direction.
Mark that line once with tape on the sill or a note on the wall, and a college room, office or flat has its Qibla for good.
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