Film legend Omar Sharif gets solemn sendoff in Egypt

Close friends and family paid respects Sunday to cinema legend Omar Sharif, who will forever be remembered as the eponymous "Doctor Zhivago", at a solemn funeral in his native Egypt.

Sharif, 83, died on Friday of a heart attack in an upmarket Cairo clinic after a struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

The funeral was held at the grand mosque of Mushir Tantawi in an eastern neighbourhood of the Egyptian capital, where key religious ceremonies are often held.

Sharif's remains will be buried later at El Sayeda Nafisa cemetery in the city's south.

The service was attended by a group of Sharif's relatives, friends and Egyptian actors, an AFP correspondent reported.

His body was draped in the Egyptian flag and a black shroud.

Journalists outnumbered mourners, and there was no sign of any top government officials or Hollywood stars at the memorial service.

"Omar Sharif represented Egypt to the world in the best possible way," said Hussein Fahmy, a popular Egyptian actor who attended the funeral.

Zahi Hawass, the prominent archaeologist and former Egyptian antiquities minister, said he had "lost a close friend" while "the world lost a great actor".

Sharif's death came six months after that of his ex-wife and iconic Egyptian actress, Faten Hamama, known as the "Lady of the Arabic Screen".

Born Michel Demitri Shalhoub, a Christian, Sharif converted to Islam to marry Hamama -- who he described as the only love of his life.

The couple had a son, Tarek, who was deeply emotional during Sunday's funeral.

They divorced in 1974 when Sharif, already famous in his homeland, launched a career in Hollywood

He never remarried.

The winner of two Golden Globe awards and an Oscar nomination for his role as Sherif Ali in David Lean's 1962 epic "Lawrence of Arabia," Sharif captivated audiences worldwide for more than half a century.

Sharif was known for his debonair style, raffish good looks and often mischievous joie de vivre, but he will be remembered forever as the eponymous "Doctor Zhivago".

- Avid Bridge player -

Tributes poured in after the news of Sharif's death.

"He was handsome, sophisticated and charming. He was a proud Egyptian," American star Barbra Streisand, who starred alongside Sharif in 1968's "Funny Girl", wrote on Facebook.

"I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Omar, and I'm profoundly sad to hear of his passing."

Fluent in six languages and also famous for his skills at playing the card game bridge, Sharif began acting in the 1950s.

His most high-profile roles were in the 1960s when he won an Oscar nomination for "Lawrence of Arabia" and Golden Globes for the same film and for "Doctor Zhivago".

Sharif played the hero in the epic adaptation of Boris Pasternak's novel of tortured passions during the Russian Revolution, with his son Tarek playing his younger self.

Sharif kept working over the following decades, often in television movies, and in later years became equally renowned for his prowess as a bridge player and owner of thoroughbred racehorses.

"I'd rather be playing bridge than making a bad movie," he once said, before announcing in 2006 that he had given up the game.

Sharif had a triple heart bypass in 1992 and suffered a mild heart attack in 1994, according to the IMDb movie database website. The 100-cigarettes-a-day smoker quit after the operation.

Sharif made something of a comeback in 2003 in the title role of the French film "Monsieur Ibrahim", playing an elderly Muslim shopkeeper.

The performance won him a best actor award at the Venice Film Festival and the best actor Cesar, France's equivalent of an Oscar.