The word Sahara is an Arabic word which means Great. So, we can call it a great dessert. It is the biggest hot desert on the planet, spanning about 9 million square kilometers. As I said it is the greatest desert on the planet to the cold desert of Antarctica. The Sahara continued many civilizations from the past 6000 years in its dry environment.

There is a common misconception among people that Sahara is made up of sand dunes which are not true. It is rocky, hard and has few rivers and streams. The dunes can be found near Morocco and Western Sahara. Wind storms in Sahara can be very dangerous and can cause huge damage once it gets started. Although the climate makes Sahara a non-inhabitant place but throughout the human history animals and humans managed to live and survive in this unfriendly place.

With regards to the historical backdrop of Sahara, it is as old as 3 million years. Around 6000 B.C, some early Egyptians used to herd cattle and build large structures there. At that time people used to exchange animals and foods to live often known as barter systems.

Animal agriculture was very common and it includes goats, dairy cows, sheep, and pigs. Metal articles are starting at now displacing stone things. Interworking and pottery of certain animals like cows, sheep and even pigs is very common at that time. Lots of research has been conducted in Sahara to know the living patterns of ancient people the recent research says that in Al Faiyum which is the city of Egypt located about 1000 kilometers to the southwest of Cairo has one the oldest civilization and thousands of years ago they used to preserve food and sell them later. Also, they were experts in chasing and angling.

Pre-dynastic Egyptians had scrubbers, blades and sharpened stones to protect their tribes from invaders. The weirdest thing is how they burn their dead bodies. They bury the dead body with jewelry, Pottery and with their chasing and angling equipment with fruits and foods. All the dead bodies have their faces to the west.

Around 34000 BC Sahara was very dry when contrasted with today. So, in that era, it’s difficult for any civilization to live and flourish there. Only a few tribes live near an oasis in that era but trade and other financial activities is very limited at that time. By the Neolithic era, the environment in Sahara bolstered a gigantic populace and people are settling to the place which is now called Wadi-el-Qaab.’

By the fifth thousand years BC, individuals possessing the territory called Nubia and were called early Nubians. They used to raise creatures and developed plants. They are the originators of the Agricultural Revolution. The herders and dairy cattle shake workmanship can be found in Sahara and give us the hint that they were cattle lovers. After that, you could found the civilization of Nabta’s Neolithic Society and Egypt’s the Old Kingdom. Stone monuments that were found in Nabta Playa show that they are the founder of Archeoastronomy gadgets on the planet.

Later on, we could see the civilization of Phoenicians from 1100 up to 700 B.C. At that point, around 633 BC up to 530 BC, the famous “Hanno the mariner” was noted to have either fortified or built up Western Sahara’s Phoenician states. Anyways, for some reason, all the traces of this civilization have vanished mysteriously.

Around 450 BC, the Greek impact arrived. This is with the spread of Greek merchants along the desert’s eastern coast and thusly building up their exchanging provinces inside the bank of the Red Sea. It is demonstrated that the Carthaginians were the ones who investigated the Sahara’s Atlantic coast. Be that as it may, with a need for business sectors and exasperating water turbulence, no broad nearness flourished more remote than the cutting-edge Morocco we see now.

After the Phoenicians, another urban development known as the Garamantes emerged in the Sahara’s focal zone. This is along a valley they right now call Aqueduct al-Ajal arranged in Libya’s Fazzan district. They did some really strong developments during their era like digging tunnels in the mountains to bring water directly to the field they build some really good irrigation system for their people at that time.

The only motivation behind why the early Romans and Greeks are called uncivilized because of their attitude towards their neighbors and other civilizations. As they were strong and has more power so, they used to conquer their neighbors and make them slaves. Even when the neighbor used to trade with them. According to reports, the progress of the Garamantes, in the end, crumbled because of the way that they effectively drained all the accessible water inside the alleged springs.

The Islamic and Arabic extension to Sahara begins in the mid of the 7 to 8 century at the finish of the 670 all the Egypt conquered by the Muslims. Then the Footrest Turkish time in 1500 began. Europeans came to the Sahara in the 18 century. France conquered the regency of Algiers from the Ottomans in 1830.

There are still a lot of things awaits to be explored in the Sahara Desert as many civilizations survived in this dry environment. Many researchers believed that there are more valuable ancient aircraft, fossils and other signs of ancient civilizations are hidden there.

Now if we talk about today then many people do not even know how many countries have connected to the Sahara Desert. While there are boundaries that are pretty hard to define but the following are commonly considered as the Sahara Desert Countries in which you can visit and enjoy the beauty of the Sahara Desert.

  • Algeria
  • Chad
  • Egypt
  • Libya
  • Mali
  • Mauritania
  • Morocco
  • Niger
  • Sudan
  • Tunisia

Overall the Sahara Desert is a place rich in culture and if you visit any of the above-mentioned countries, then do not forget to visit Sahara, particular in Morocco. It is the only place in Sahara where you could find the number of beautiful sand dunes to enjoy. And if you want to see the biggest dune then you have to visit Erg Chebbi located in Sahara of Morocco. I recommend considering a Marrakech to Erg Chebbi desert tour as well. I highly recommend you to go there if you want to enjoy the beauty of the biggest sand dune of Sahara Desert.