The reply to this is: often C.) Be that as it may. The title 'Sahara' is inferred from the Arabic word for "desert", ṣaḥra (صحرا /ˈsˤaħra/). The desert comprises much of North Africa, barring the ripe locale on the Mediterranean Ocean coast, the Map book Mountains of the Maghreb, and the Nile Valley in Egypt and Sudan.