Mercury Ali of Cairo or Ali the Egyptian appears in The Adventures of Mercury Ali of Cairo. Mercury Ali is a sharper, who repeatedly evaded police (hence the name ”Mercury” or quicksilver). He traveled to Baghdad, where he tried to outsmart the prominent local tricksters Dalilah the Crafty, Zurayk the Fishmonger and Azariah the Jew to win the hand of Dalilah's daughter Zaynab.