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A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Mecca
From: Lu Abel
Date: 2000 Aug 26, 23:57 EDT
From: Lu Abel
Date: 2000 Aug 26, 23:57 EDT
I'm not sure what is meant by the "geodesic," but as a curiosity question, does anyone know if when a Muslim determines the direction to Mecca is it the rhumb line or the great circle?? I asked while on a tour of a mosque, but the guide didn't understand the difference. TIA Lu Abel At 09:06 AM 8/25/00 -0300, you wrote: >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@XXX.XXX * >>>* The Netherlands * * >>>******************************************************** >>>* Home page: http://www.phys.uu.nl/~vgent/homepage.htm * >>>======================================================== >>> >> >> >>========================================================================== ===== >> Richard B. Langley E-mail: lang@XXX.XXX >> 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@XXX.XXX > 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/ >=========================================================================== ==== >
