Hadschi Halef Omar Ben Hadschi Abul Abbas Ibn Hadschi Dawud al Gossarah, literally ''

hajji Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since i ...

'' Halef Omar, son of ''hajji'' father-of-Abbas, son of ''hajji'' David al Gossarah, is one of

Karl May Karl Friedrich May ( , ; 25 February 1842 – 30 March 1912) was a German author. He is best known for his 19th century novels of fictitious travels and adventures, set in the American Old West with Winnetou and Old Shatterhand as main pro ...

's literary characters. ''

Hajji Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since i ...

'' means "one who has performed the

Muslim pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

".Nemsi Books (Publisher of new unabridged translations)
/ref> Halef is the exceedingly loyal servant, companion and friend, in honored

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

tradition, of the author's alter ego, German Adventurer

Kara Ben Nemsi Kara Ben Nemsi is a fictional main character from the works of Karl May, best-selling 19th century German author. An alter ego of May, the stories about Nemsi are written as first-person narratives. He travels across North Africa, Sudan, and the ...

. Halef accompanies Kara Ben Nemsi through all his adventures in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

from ''Durch die Wüste'' to ''Der Schut''. Halef has a special talent for proverbial flowery oriental language and long strings of rather comical curses. But while comical, he is always dignified, never just ridiculous caricature. He is a very devout Muslim, and throughout the adventures with Kara Ben Nemsi he tries to convince him of the superiority of Islam. After many adventures he became ''Scheik of the Haddedihn of the great tribe of the Schammar''. He is married to ''Hanneh'', the "most beautiful wife on earth", and with her has a son called ''Kara Ben Halef'', who in later novels also has some adventures. The German disco group

Dschinghis Khan Dschinghis Khan (; "Genghis Khan") was a German Eurodisco pop band. It was originally formed in Munich in 1979 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest with their song " Dschinghis Khan". The original group led by original members Henriette Str ...

also released a song entitled "Hadschi Halef Omar" on their 1980 album "

Rom Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

." The entire chorus is basically reciting Halef's name.

Original German stories

* ''Durch Wüste und Harem'' (1892), since 1895 with the title ''Durch die Wüste'' * ''Durchs wilde Kurdistan'' (1892) * ''Von Bagdad nach Stambul'' (1892) * ''In den Schluchten des Balkan'' (1892) * ''Durch das Land der Skipetaren'' (1892) * ''Der Schut'' (1892) * ''Eine Ghasuah'' (in ''Orangen und Datteln'', 1893) * ''Nûr es Semâ. – Himmelslicht'' (in ''Orangen und Datteln'', 1893) * ''Christi Blut und Gerechtigkeit'' (in ''Orangen und Datteln'', 1893) * ''Mater dolorosa'' (in ''Orangen und Datteln'', 1893) * ''Im Lande des Mahdi III'' (1896) * ''Blutrache'' (in ''Auf fremden Pfaden'', 1897) * ''Der Kys-Kaptschiji'' (in ''Auf fremden Pfaden'', 1897) * ''Maria oder Fatima'' (in ''Auf fremden Pfaden'', 1897) * ''Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen I'' (1898) * ''Die »Umm ed Dschamahl«'' (1898) * ''Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen II'' (1898) * ''Am Jenseits'' (1899) * ''Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen III'' (1902) * ''Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen IV'' (1903) * ''Bei den Aussätzigen'' (1907) * ''Abdahn Effendi'' (1908) * ''Merhameh'' (1909) * ''Ardistan und Dschinnistan I'' (1909) * ''Ardistan und Dschinnistan II'' (1909) Within the book series ''Karl May’s Gesammelte Werke'' there is a sequel of ''Am Jenseits'': „In Mekka“ (1923) by Franz Kandolf.

Film actors

* The first oriental Karl May movies (1920/21) were in the age of silent movies. Halef was played in those by

Meinhart Maur Meinhart Maur ( hu, Grünbaum Menyhért, 18 August 1891 – 27 November 1964) was a Hungarian-German film actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1919 and 1954. He was born in Hajdúnánás, Hungary and died in London, England. Selec ...

. * In the first Karl May sound-movie ''Durch die Wüste'' (1936) he was played by Heinz Evelt. * In the Karl May movies of the 1950s actor

Georg Thomalla Georg Thomalla (14 February 1915 – 25 August 1999) was a German actor. He appeared in about one hundred fifty film and television productions between 1939 and 2000 and was widely known in Germany for his comedic roles. Thomalla was well k ...

played Halef. * In the TV-series ''Mit Karl May im Orient'' (1963) Osman Ragheb played Halef. * In the Karl May movies of the 1960s Halef was played by

Ralf Wolter Ralf Wolter (26 November 1926 – 14 October 2022) was a German stage and screen actor. Wolter appeared in nearly 220 films and television series in his over 60 years as a character actor. Life and career Wolter began his long career on the B ...

. * In the TV-series ''Kara Ben Nemsi Effendi'' (1973/75) he was played by Heinz Schubert.

References

External links

Amazon.com (Karl May's works translated by Marlies Bugmann)Nemsi Books (Publisher of new unabridged translations)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omar, Hadschi Halef Characters in German novels of the 19th century Characters in German novels of the 20th century Fictional Arabs Sidekicks in literature Karl May