The two minarets
31 metres each.
SamirNosteb — CC BY 3.0 · Massimiliano W — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Herr stahlhoefer — Public domain · Massimiliano W — CC BY-SA 3.0
The Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque is the emblem of the Arab community of Foz do Iguaçu, a city home to some 22,000 Arab immigrants and their descendants, most from Lebanon and some from Palestine, since the Lebanese began settling here in the 1940s. It opened in 1983, paid for by private donations from the fifty or so families who made up the community then, and it stands on a street named Mecca. The white building is octagonal, crowned by a large dome and two minarets 31 metres high. Its prayer hall has a large blue carpet patterned with arches and columns, verses in Arabic calligraphy and stained-glass windows, and the mosque has become the city's third most visited sight after the falls and Itaipu. Tourist visits are guided tours every half hour, lasting about thirty minutes: a short film about Islam, then visitors stand at the entrance of the prayer hall to see it whole. Men are given a robe and women a headscarf. Worshippers come to prayers as usual. Thanks to the large community, Lebanese restaurants and halal meat are easier to find in Foz than in most Brazilian cities, so ask at the mosque.
31 metres each.
Calligraphy and stained glass.
Lebanese since the 1940s.
Rua Meca 599, Jardim Central
Yes. The large, mostly Lebanese Arab community makes Lebanese restaurants and halal meat easier to find in Foz than in most Brazilian cities; ask at the Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque for the nearest places.