| . | Sinai Peninsula |
Italian Peninsula |
| . |  |
 |
| Geography |
Area: 60,000 km2
Coordinates: 29.3N - 33.50E |
Area: 223,000 km2
Coordinates: 41.42N - 13.12E |
| Climate |
Extremely hot and harsh arid deserts that receive very little precipitation in any form |
Mediterranean climate, with mild humid winters, and harm dry summers |
| Rivers and water resources |
No rivers run though the peninsula - no source of fresh water
No natural lakes
Few oasises such as Ain Umm Ahmed and Wadi Feiran, are the only source of life in this otherwise unliveable region |
Many rivers including the Po (645 km long), the Volturno, the Roman Tiber and the Arno
Important lakes such as Como, Lugano and Maggiore |
| Human Settlements |
For three millennia, Sinai remained sparsely inhabited, serving primarily as a mining region and as a military route between Egypt and the great civilizations of the Fertile Crescent.
The majority of the limited population lived along the north coast and the few oasises
1970 population - 60,000 (1 person per square kilometer)
2007 population - 600,000
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Important cities and civilizations flourished along the Italian Peninsula.
Rome, Venice, Florence, Naples and Milan are examples of historical locations.
2007 population - 59 millions (196 persons per square kilometer) |
| Historical Development |
Natural border and buffer zone between Asia and the Nile valley
Sinai owed its importance to the Egypt's economy for its valuable minerals - Egyptian presence in Sinai dates back from 3000 B.C, when they developed the peninsula's copper and turquoise Mines
No civilizations or important cultures have originated here.
Around 1400 BC, Moses led the Israelites through its "great and terrible wilderness" on the epic journey recounted in Exodus.
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Land of the Roman Civilization
Home of the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries.
The Italian peninsula has been of critical importance to human history throughout the ages.
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| Vegetation and wildlife |
Arid desert |
Mediterranean agriculture
Coniferous forests |
