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shows the range of mosque orientations determined in this study, displayed on a circular horizon, alongside the accepted qibla directions for each of the cities. The mosque orientations measured from the maps for this study ranged from 120.03 (in Konya) to 210.57 (also in Konya) and showed a large amount of scatter. 102 The differences between the actual orientation of the mosques and the accepted qibla directions and also the magnetic declination values are illustrated in Fig. 11. The statistical analysis of the actual mosque orientations, the mean of the accepted qibla directions and declination values are summarised in Table 1 for each city. The wide range of mosque orientations illustrated in may have reflected the different standards for determining the qibla directions over time within each city. Approximately, 63% (52 of 82) of the differences in mosque orientation lay inside the 4.1 declination bounds of 95% confidence (Fig. 12). It could be concluded that while the compass may have been generally used in mosque orientation, it was not used for all mosques. The distribution of orientation differences between À2 and 2 (20 of 82) provides valuable information about the knowledge and competence to orient the mosques correctly in most periods in Turkey (Fig. 13). Furthermore, it could be concluded that the accepted qibla directions selected for this study were appropriate for Turkey. When the results presented in Table 1 are evaluated, it can be seen from Figs. 10e13 that the mosque orientations towards the star Antares or southern direction (180 ) were in widespread use in the study cities in Turkey. 20 mosque orientations based on Antares and 11
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The orientation of buildings in the ancient civilisations has been referred to the movements of several celestial bodies above the horizon on characteristics dates (two solstices and equinoxes). However, Muslims have used a sacred direction (qibla) towards Kaaba located in the courtyard in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to pray and to perform various r...
Citations
... They used this mathematical tool to calculate the qibla direction by determining the shortest path, or great circle, between two points on the earth's surface. The qibla direction was then determined by finding the angle between the great circle and the direction of the North Pole [35]. ...
This study investigates the primary spaces and required orientation of mosques. Similar to other architectural styles, mosques have specific primary spaces that must be featured in every typical mosque, while each region's cultural and traditional needs determine secondary spaces. Orienting the mosque toward the Qibla direction is also crucial. The study sheds light on the correct orientation of typical mosques and the origin of Islamic directives regarding their orientation. Several common ancient mathematical procedures for calculating Qibla have been described. In addition to architectural plans for five mosques in Pakistan, artistic depictions of aerial views of existing mosques in other parts of the globe are also included.
... Muslims have used a sacred direction (qibla) towards Kaaba, located in the courtyard in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, to pray and to perform various ritual acts in their daily lives since the early days of Islam. Thus, the mosques were oriented toward the qibla direction, being indicated by a niche in the focal point of the qibla-wall wherever they were building on Earth (Yilmaz 2012). Perhaps the best architectural clue to reject this building's role as a mosque lies in its orientation. ...
... Muslims have used a sacred direction (qibla) towards Kaaba, located in the courtyard in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, to pray and to perform various ritual acts in their daily lives since the early days of Islam. Thus, the mosques were oriented toward the qibla direction, being indicated by a niche in the focal point of the qibla-wall wherever they were building on Earth (Yilmaz 2012). Perhaps the best architectural clue to reject this building's role as a mosque lies in its orientation. ...
... 4a-11b, Staatsbibliothek Zu Berlin). Besides Ibn al-Haytham, there are other Muslim scientists who contribute in determining Qibla direction: al-Biruni [2] [3][4] [5] Abu al-Wafa [6] [7], al-Khwarizmi [8], Ibn Mu'adh [9] [10], al-Nayrizi [11], al-Quhi [12], and others [13] [14]. ...
Ibn al-Haytham or better known as Alhazen (965-1040 AD) was a great Muslim scientist who mastered many disciplines. One of his works entitled "Qawl fi Samt al-Qibla bi al-Hisab" describes a mathematical method for determining the direction of Qibla. In this paper, Ibn al-Haytham's algorithm is modified, thus the algorithm can determine the Qibla direction on the entire surface of the globe. Then, Ibn al-Haytham's mathematical method is compared with modern spherical trigonometry methods and our previous research using al-Biruni’s method. The computational results show that all methods have the same accuracy, and show that ibn al-Haytham's method is still relevant now. Therefore, the modified ibn al-Haytham method algorithm was implemented to develop a Qibla direction device and interface based on Raspberry Pi 4, GPS module, digital compass, and Processing 3 software. The implementation results show that the device can display the Qibla direction interface according to numerical calculations with high accuracy, real-time, and dynamic interface.
... The orientations of historical Christian churches is a subject of increasing interest (for example Ali and Cunich 2001;Hinton 2010;Blaauw 2012;Yilmaz 2012;Čaval 2015;González-García 2015;Allen 2016;Abril 2017), and is a subject that lies within the scope of archaeoastronomy, the scientific discipline of studying the relationship between ancient constructions and the sky (Magli 2015). This paper examines the orientation patterns of churches in the cities of the Guadalquivir Valley of southern Spain that were built after the Reconquista, the Christian re-conquest of Muslim Spain. ...
... Other minor "attractors" appear around 190°, 109° and 126°. In the first two centuries of Islam, there was no truly scientific means for finding the direction of the qibla, and a set of traditions was applied instead (for a detailed discussion, see for example King 1978;1985;1995;-2019Jiménez 1991;Yilmaz 2012). King (1994) and Yilmaz (2012) refer to the ancient tradition of determining the qibla by using the corresponding direction of the road on which the pilgrims travelled to Mecca for Hajj. ...
... In the first two centuries of Islam, there was no truly scientific means for finding the direction of the qibla, and a set of traditions was applied instead (for a detailed discussion, see for example King 1978;1985;1995;-2019Jiménez 1991;Yilmaz 2012). King (1994) and Yilmaz (2012) refer to the ancient tradition of determining the qibla by using the corresponding direction of the road on which the pilgrims travelled to Mecca for Hajj. According to King (1994;-2019, these observations supported a tradition of mosque orientation based on folk astronomy in the middle ages of Islam before the development of methods based upon mathematical astronomy. ...
Most of the earliest new churches built in Andalusia (southern Spain) following the thirteenth-century Christian Reconquista occupied the sites of former mosques. In some cases, these churches incorporated pre-existing architectonic elements – particularly minarets, which were converted into bell towers – or took some inspiration from Islamic architecture, creating a
combination of Gothic style and elements from Muslim architecture known as Gothic-Mudéjar. This paper analyses the orientation pattern of a group of 68 Gothic-Mudéjar churches built in the cities of re-conquered Andalusia up to the early fifteenth century, and the normalised frequency distribution of azimuths is compared with published data for the qibla (the direction toward which Muslims turn to pray) observed at a group of 82 Andalusian mosques. Results confirm that a large number of churches were oriented via a 90° anticlockwise rotation from orientation to the qibla after placing the apse in the former eastern wall of the mosque. It is further argued, based on the histogram and a distinctive peak around 84°, that the architects aligned these churches to sunrise over the local horizon for 25th March according to the Julian calendar, the date of the canonical equinox. This practice reflects Church teaching and a medieval foundation-stone rite involving a dawn vigil, and the built structures reflect the limited technical capacity of the church builders. The method of orientation would also have created a precedent for the alignment of some later churches in southern Spain dedicated to the Virgin of the Assumption to sunrise on 15th August, the Feast of the Assumption.
... The mosque is the most important religious building in Islam; both used as a space for prayer besides a community centre and contribute to the generation of Islamic way of life [15,16]. According to Sergeld [17], Othman et al. [18] and Al-Ajmi [13], The mosque in general, can have square or rectangular walled prayer hall with a high ceiling roof and it usually contains domes and minarets. ...
... Schwartz [7] explained a new spherical trigonometric approach to determine the qibla direction precisely. Yilmaz [8] investigated the correctness of the mosque orientation in Turkey before seventeenth century using geometric or trigonometric formulas. In these studies, mainly trigonometric computation methods have been handled. ...
The main goal of this study is to introduce two different approaches (i.e. based on spherical trigonometric formula and using sun qibla time) that can be used to determine the qibla directions of the existing mosques were oriented with sufficient accuracy according to Islamic criteria. In order to do this, eight mosques which were constructed in different periods, 14th, 16th, 17th and 21st centuries in Çorum City, Turkey, were handled. The existing qibla directions of each mosque were calculated with spherical trigonometric formula and compared with the precisely calculated real qibla directions. The existing qibla directions of the same mosques were once more compared with the real qibla directions which were determined by using the qibla time calculated based on the location and the time of the measurement. The results show that the qibla directions of the recently built mosques were oriented to Kâ’ba with higher accuracy while the earlier with more deviations. However, the results show that all the deviations were at acceptable levels in terms of Islamic criteria.
... With regard to buildings, their placement, orientation, shape, material, the time of decoration, all provide important information about the cultural activities of a civilization (Hoskin 2001). Determining the historical orientation of constructions provides substantial information about the social structure and religious frame of the past civilizations (Yilmaz 2012). Acts of orientation reveal the influence of the sacred on people's spatial sensibility. ...
... The construction dates of the Grand mosques were stated with respect to the mosque inscriptions. When there was an uncertainty about the exact construction date and if Fig. 6 An extract from al-Khalili's Qibla table, displaying the Qibla directions (in degrees and minutes) for the latitude range 28°-33°and for the each degree of longitude difference between 1°and 60°from Mecca (with longitude 67°) (King 2016c) a time interval was given, the mean date was assigned with the strategy followed by Yilmaz (2012) for being close to maximum uncertainties about dating. ...
In the ancient civilizations, the sky has been observed in order to understand the motions of the celestial bodies above the horizon. The study of faiths and practices dealing with the sky in the past has been attributed to the sun, the moon, and the prominent stars. The alignment and orientation of constructions to significant celestial objects were a common practice. The orientation was an important component of the religious structure design. Religious buildings often have an intentional orientation to fix the praying direction. In Islam, a sacred direction (Qibla) towards Kaaba located in the courtyard in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca has been used for praying and fulfilling varied ritual tasks. Therefore, the mosques had then to orientate towards the Qibla direction, being designated by a focal niche in the Qibla-wall, wherever they were built on Earth. In this study, the orientations of the historical Grand mosques in Turkey are surveyed with regard to the folk astronomy derived from pre-Islamic Arabian sources, early traditions of the Islamic period, and geometric-trigonometric computation in mathematical astronomy inherited and developed mostly from Greek sources according to the Islamic view of the World geography.
... Special attention must be paid to the conversion of some mosques into Christian 355 churches. In the two first centuries of the Islam there were no truly scientific means of 356 finding the qibla direction (azimuth of 99º-100º for the studied area) and a set of 357 traditions applied (Yilmaz 2012). According to González-García and Belmonte (2015), 358 in southern Spain a number of mosques were orientated towards SE, while others 359 followed the qibla of the Great Mosque in Cordoba (azimuth 151º). ...
This work studies the alignment of churches in southern Spain after the twelfth
century. It merges a statistical analysis from a wide survey with a case study at the town of
Bujalance, where the alignment of the parish Churches of Our Lady of the Assumption and of
St Francis of Assisi (both from the early sixteenth century) accurately orient to the sunrise and
sunset on the respective feast days. A systematic survey covering an area which roughly maps
onto the Muslim domain in the mid-twelfth century included all the parish churches with the
same two dedications (N = 168 and 72, respectively), and the measurement of their alignments
allows an estimation of the continuous distribution of normalised frequency for each dedication.
They show a major peak around the azimuths linked to the sunrise (Assumption) or sunset
(St Francis) in their respective patronal festivals, as demonstrated by a detailed study of these
churches.
... İslam dünyası açısından son derece önemli olan bu konu hakkında, yani kıble belirleme konusunda çok sayıda İslam alimi ve bilim insanının çalışmalar yaptığı bilinmektedir (Abdali, 1997 (Abdali, 1997;Yilmaz, 2012); Konuyla ilgili detaylı bilgiler Almakky and Snyder (1996), Abdali (1997), Ince et al., (1999) HKMO-Mühendislik Ölçmeleri STB Komisyonu 8. Ulusal Mühendislik Ölçmeleri Sempozyumu 19-21 Ekim 2016, Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi, İstanbul Her ne kadar bu konuda birçok yöntem olmakla birlikte en uygun olanlarından birisi, camilerin yapılacağı yerin koordinatlarının başta GNSS tekniği olmak üzere, güncel ve yüksek doğruluklu bir yöntemle belirlenmesi ve bu koordinatlardan yararlanarak trigonometrik formüller yardımıyla kıble açısının bulunması ve aplikasyonudur. HKMO-Mühendislik Ölçmeleri STB Komisyonu 8. Ulusal Mühendislik Ölçmeleri Sempozyumu 19-21 Ekim 2016, Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi, İstanbul ...
zet : Dünya üzerinde yer alan özellikle ibadethane gibi dini yapıların belirli bir yöne doğru yönlendirilmeleri gerekmektedir. Müslümanların başta namaz kılarken olmak üzere, diğer bazı ibadet ve işlerinde yöneldikleri bu doğrultuya kıble adı verilmekte olup, kişisel olarak yapılan ibadetlerde kişilerin bu yöne yönelmeleri gerektiği gibi, cami ve mescitlerin de yine bu yönü gösterecek şekilde inşa edilmeleri gerekmektedir. Bu konu, yapılan ibadetin geçerliği açısından son derece önemlidir. Bu çalışmada kıble belirleme yöntemlerine genel bir bakış yapıldıktan sonra özellikle trigonometrik formüller ve kıble saati yöntemi ile kıble doğrultusunun nasıl belirleneceğine ilişkin teorik bilgiler verilmiştir. Bu yöntemlerle kıble belirlenirken yanlışlık yapılmaması için dikkat edilmesi gereken hususlar ve uygulanması aşaması için yararlı olacağı düşünülen pratik bazı bilgiler de paylaşılmıştır.
Abstract : On the world, sanctuary places like mosques are required to be directed to a certain direction. This direction which Muslims faced towards, especially while they are performing prayers and other religious performances, called as qibla and besides the necessity of heading towards this directions during personal worships, mosques and masjids should be constructed showing the qibla direction. This issue is very important in order to provide the validity of the worships. In this study, after a general overview of qibla determination methods, theoretical information on how to determine qibla direction with especially trigonometric formulas and qibla time method were given. On the other hand, some issues to be considered not to make mistakes during qibla direction determination and some practical information which are thought to be useful during the practices were shared.
