North Africa and Middle East - geography.

North Africa and Middle East - geography. Deserts of North Africa and Southwest Asia The Sahara--the largest desert in the world--is part of a vast belt of deserts that stretches across North Africa and Middle East (see Subtropical Deserts: Ecoregions Map Trek). These nearly barren deserts support a sparse population of nomads, miners, and oil workers. About 1,300 years ago, the nomads of the Arabian Desert spread the Arab language and the religion of Islam to the Sahara and to surrounding reg...