Qibla direction
Qibla Direction in Cape Town
From Cape Town, South Africa, the Kaaba lies 23° clockwise from true north — to the north-east, about 6,558 km away.
The compass
Face the gold square
The gold marker is the Kaaba’s direction, not a map position.
The bearing
23°
from true northFrom Cape Town, the Qibla is to the north-east. The Kaaba is 6,558 km away.
- City coordinates
- 33.925° S, 18.424° E
- Time zone
- Africa/Johannesburg
- Kaaba distance
- 6,558 km
How to
Face the Qibla, properly
Three steps that work without special equipment — plus the one caveat about phone compasses.
Find true north
The bearing on this page is measured clockwise from true north. Open a compass app, hold the phone flat and calibrate with a figure-eight motion if the reading drifts.
Turn 23° clockwise
From true north, rotate clockwise by 23°. That line points from Cape Town toward the Kaaba, 6,558 km away.
Hold the line
Choose a fixed object on the line — a doorway, a window or a mark on the wall — so you can return to the same direction for later prayers without the phone.
The bearing is a great-circle direction on a sphere. It is shown from the city centre; a few kilometres across Cape Town changes it by a fraction of a degree, which does not affect your prayer.
Questions
The Qibla from Cape Town
Bearing, true north and why the angle is what it is.
What is the Qibla direction in Cape Town?
From Cape Town city centre, the Qibla is 23° clockwise from true north — toward the north-east. The Kaaba is about 6,558 km away on that great-circle line.
Is this bearing measured from true north or magnetic north?
True north. A physical or phone compass may point to magnetic north, which differs by the local magnetic declination — often a few degrees. Apply the local declination, or use the DeenDock app, which corrects for it on supported phones.
Why does the Qibla in Cape Town not point straight east?
The shortest path to Makkah is a great-circle route on a sphere, not a straight line on a flat map. That is why the bearing changes with your position and rarely matches a simple compass point.