The Qibla Direction Problem in Large-Scale Maps and Its Representation with Geodetic Accuracy: The Case of Türkiye

Abstract

In Islamic societies, knowing the direction of the Qibla is important in the planning of religious areas. In urban plans designed by practitioners where the Qibla direction is not considered, inconsistencies arise among religious areas. These inconsistencies reduce the project areas within the structures and cause loss of space. To address these inconsistencies, plan revisions are required. However, plan revisions extend the construction periods of projects and increase the projected costs. Adding the Qibla direction as a legend to large-scale maps (LSMs) used as base maps in the drawing of urban plans is an option that can be used to eliminate these inconsistencies. In this study, the Qibla direction for all LSMs in Türkiye's national mapping was calculated with geodetic accuracy to eliminate the mentioned inconsistencies. These calculations and the generated visual outputs are presented to users through the Map Qibla Direction Calculation Interface (MQDCI) developed in the MATLAB environment. When any coordinate data or the name of the relevant LSM is entered as input into the developed interface, the Qibla direction value for that map is provided to the user in this study. The developed interface allows the Qibla direction angle to be calculated and presented to the user with geodetic accuracy and instantly, without the need for measurements and calculations performed in the field. Although the developed interface is designed according to the Kaaba, which is the Qibla for Muslims, and Türkiye's geographical boundaries, it is also suitable for other religions in Türkiye or different religions in other countries. For this, it is sufficient to know the national mapping systems of the countries and the geographical coordinates of the Qibla in Christianity and Judaism

Keywords

• Qibla direction
• urban plan
• large-scale base maps
• Map Qibla Direction Calculation Interface
• Matlab

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