Worshippers at a mosque have discovered they have been praying in the wrong direction for 37 years. The Sugoren mosque in western Turkey was built in 1981 and appointed 24-year-old Isa Kaya as Imam earlier this year.

According to the Quran, Muslims are expected to pray in the Qibla, or direction, of the Kaaba in Mecca.

In every mosque, a niche in the wall is made which indicates the way worshippers need to face. Following rumours that his congregation had been facing the wrong way, Iman Kaya decided to ask the mufti’s office in Yalova to check if local whispers were true.

A team were then sent to examine the suspicion, and have now confirmed the Qibla had been built in the wrong place when the mosque was built, reports the Metro.

But instead of rebuilding the mosque they have decided to paint white lines across the carpet to help people face real direction of Mecca.

Kayasaid: ‘We have explained the situation to our congregation and most of them have reacted positively to our solution.’

Villager Recep Yavuz said that the mosque was built in the place of the previous mosque that was demolished in 1980 and that the mistake was ‘inherited’ from the previous mosque too.

It is unclear how old the previous mosque was when it was demolished.