qibla

1. (Islam) The direction in which Muslims face while praying, currently determined as the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca.Examples: "The other mosques' qiblas are also in the 150°'s range, except for the Andalusian Mosque which has a qibla of 148° (table 7, fig. 17)."; "Muslim astronomers from the 8th century onwards concerned themselves with the determination of the qibla as a problem of mathematical geography."; "The original portico was on the west side (i.e. at right angles to the qibla) and consisted of three bays resting on two marble columns."Synonyms: qibla directioncountableuncountable