People in North Africa have common characteristics, including a shared religion, ancestry, and history. This area is isolated from southern Africa by the Sahara. As a result, the culture of North Africa has more in common with the Middle East than with the rest of Africa. People speak Arabic and practice Islam, and many are of Arab descent. Countries in this region include: Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and the territory of Western Sahara.
There are certain reasons for why North Africa may not be considered "African" in the same sense as the rest of the African continent. One such reason is geographical - that the Sahara Desert separates most of North Africa from that of the rest of the Continent as well as dense jungles and rainforests making travel into inner Africa difficult. Also, North Africa is positioned along the Mediterranean Sea which was a commercial and traveling hub for most of the western world throughout human history. This results in constant contact with civilizations such as Rome, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ottomans, Spanish, etc. that made North Africa part of a different world than what the rest of Africa was experiencing during history. For these reasons, North Africa had enjoyed a different exposure to cultures, possibilities, and commerce that the majority of the African continent was not able to.
The Silk Road promoted commodity exchange and cultural. it led to Buddhism one of the religions of the Kushan kingdom reached China and also the merchant caravans Buddhist monks went from India to Central Asia and China, preaching the new religion. Buddhist monuments were discovered in numerous cities along the Silk Road.
