<P> The French Colonial Empire was the dominant presence in the Sahara . It established regular air links from Toulouse (HQ of famed Aéropostale), to Oran and over the Hoggar to Timbuktu and West to Bamako and Dakar, as well as trans - Sahara bus services run by La Companie Transsaharienne (est. 1927). A remarkable film shot by famous aviator Captain René Wauthier documents the first crossing by a large truck convoy from Algiers to Tchad, across the Sahara . </P> <P> Egypt, under Muhammad Ali and his successors, conquered Nubia in 1820--22, founded Khartoum in 1823, and conquered Darfur in 1874 . Egypt, including the Sudan, became a British protectorate in 1882 . Egypt and Britain lost control of the Sudan from 1882 to 1898 as a result of the Mahdist War . After its capture by British troops in 1898, the Sudan became an Anglo - Egyptian condominium . </P> <P> Spain captured present - day Western Sahara after 1874, although Rio del Oro remained largely under Sahrawi influence . In 1912, Italy captured parts of what was to be named Libya from the Ottomans . To promote the Roman Catholic religion in the desert, Pope Pius IX appointed a delegate Apostolic of the Sahara and the Sudan in 1868; later in the 19th century his jurisdiction was reorganized into the Vicariate Apostolic of Sahara . </P> <P> Egypt became independent of Britain in 1936, although the Anglo - Egyptian treaty of 1936 allowed Britain to keep troops in Egypt and to maintain the British - Egyptian condominium in the Sudan . British military forces were withdrawn in 1954 . </P>

How many oases are in the sahara desert