Abbas Hilu

A medium-height, pallid, slightly heavy barber with yellowish, wavy hair, Abbas has always lived in—and loved—Midaq Alley. He and Uncle Kamil, with whom he shares a flat, breakfast together every day after opening their shops and before working. Abbas is good-natured, gentle, peaceful, tolerant, kind, and conscientious about his religious duties. He has worked as a barber's helper for ten years before opening his own shop five years ago. He is satisfied with his lot and hates change. When Kamil complains he is so poor that when he dies, he will not be able to afford a burial shroud, Abbas claims to have bought one and laid it away. It is a joke that all but naïve Kamil share. Abbas falls hopelessly in love with Hamida, whom he considers beyond him, but his old friend, Hussain Kirsha, argues he must pursue her...