just wondering, is the 'arah' strictly necessary in this sentence?

or does using 'arah' indicate that the school (or whatever) is 'to' the east of the current location of the people speaking. rather than say 'in' the east, ie an area that is generally understood to be the east.

i have a habit of answering this question - incorrectly - as being 'in the east'. so, i'm wondering if you say in indonesian...

'di timur' to indicate 'in the east', and 'di arah timur' to indicate 'to the east'?

My translation app suggested eastward for di arah timur (east of here); and di sebelah timur for in the east (place). Di timur was translated the same for both.