The Mezquita del Este — officially the Mezquita Alkhaulafa Al-Rashdeen — is the largest mosque in Paraguay and a marker of just how significant the Arab community is in Ciudad del Este. Lebanese immigrants began arriving in the 1950s and 1960s, and their descendants now form one of the most economically influential groups in the city, running many of the major import businesses in the Avenida San Blas district.
The mosque is a substantial modern building and visitors are generally welcome outside prayer times. It is a reminder that Ciudad del Este is not just a South American border town but one of the world's more unusual commercial crossroads, where Lebanese traders, Brazilian shoppers, Paraguayan officials, and travellers heading to Iguazu all coexist in one noisy, complicated city.