Ismail, Mecnun’s closest friend, is a colorful character who is loyal and pure at heart. It is learned in one episode that Ismail and his father were abandoned by his mother because her life was not colorful enough. Ismail takes this literally, and dresses accordingly. He was adopted by another family when his father became terminally ill. His father told Ismail that he was leaving to work as a seaman and would return someday, waving from the ship; since then, Ismail has been waving to passing ships from the shore. Nothing is known about Ismail’s personal life or where he lives. He frequently changes jobs, failing at (or disliking) each one. Ismail is interested in genealogy, and famous people from the past (such as Beethoven, Picasso and Dostoyevsky) appear in a flashback during each episode.

Erdal is the neighborhood grocer, whose work defines his life. Sometimes greedy and inconsiderate, he neglects his friends and is tactless and pessimistic. With supermarkets springing up everywhere, Erdal personifies an endangered element of traditional Turkish society. His grocery store is a gathering place for the characters.