NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Mecca
From: Richard B. Langley
Date: 2000 Aug 25, 6:07 AM
From: Richard B. Langley
Date: 2000 Aug 25, 6:07 AM
According to "The Correct Qibla" by S. Kamil Abdali (on the controversy as to
whether Muslims should pray in the direction of the geodesic connecting them
to Mecca or along a line through the Earth), the coordinates of Ka'ba
(the sacred mosque in Mecca) are 21-25-24 (degrees, minutes, seconds) N and
39-49-24 E.
-- Richard Langley
On Thu, 24 Aug 2000, Richard Langley wrote:
>I have the coordinates in my office at the university and will send them along
>tomorrow.
>-- Richard Langley
> Professor of Geodesy and Precision Navigation
>
>On Fri, 25 Aug 2000, R.H. van Gent wrote:
>
>>Dear all,
>>
>>I hope that my query will not be too much out of place on this list but
>>I would be most grateful if anyone could help me on this matter.
>>
>>As most list members will know the Kabah of Mecca (Saudi Arabia)
>>represents the geographical centre of the Islamic world and its exact
>>position with respect to Greenwich would seem to be exactly known. I
>>know that up to fairly recent times this was not so due to the fact that
>>the city of Mecca was (and still is) forbidden territory for
>>non-Muslims, making it virtually impossible for European surveyors to
>>determine its position with any exactitude.
>>
>>Modern encyclopaedias, atlases and internet gazetteers all give its
>>position as 21 degree 27 minutes North and 39 degree 49 minutes East of
>>Greenwich but do not specify for which part of Mecca this refers to. Can
>>anyone on this list quote more precise figures for the geographical
>>position of the Kabah of Mecca, preferably with a reference, or direct
>>me to sources that can provide me with this information?
>>
>>Thanks in advance.
>>
>>========================================================
>>* Robert H. van Gent * Tel/Fax: 00-31-30-2720269 *
>>* Zaagmolenkade 50 * *
>>* 3515 AE Utrecht * E-mail: r.h.vangent@astro.uu.nl *
>>* The Netherlands * *
>>********************************************************
>>* Home page: http://www.phys.uu.nl/~vgent/homepage.htm *
>>========================================================
>>
>
>
>===============================================================================
> Richard B. Langley E-mail: lang@unb.ca
> Geodetic Research Laboratory Web: http://www.unb.ca/GGE/
> Dept. of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering Phone: +1 506 453-5142
> University of New Brunswick Fax: +1 506 453-4943
> Fredericton, N.B., Canada E3B 5A3
> Fredericton? Where's that? See: http://www.city.fredericton.nb.ca/
>===============================================================================
>
===============================================================================
Richard B. Langley E-mail: lang@unb.ca
Geodetic Research Laboratory Web: http://www.unb.ca/GGE/
Dept. of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering Phone: +1 506 453-5142
University of New Brunswick Fax: +1 506 453-4943
Fredericton, N.B., Canada E3B 5A3
Fredericton? Where's that? See: http://www.city.fredericton.nb.ca/
===============================================================================
