Comparison Between the Sinai and Italian Peninsulas
| Criteria | Sinai Peninsula | Italian Peninsula |
|---|---|---|
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| Geography | - Area: 60,000 km2 | - Area: 223,000 km2 |
| 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 oasis's such as Ain Umm Ahmed and Wadi Feiran, are the only source of life in this otherwise unlivable 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 oasis's - 1970 population - 60,000 (1 person per square kilometer) - 2007 population - 600,000 | - 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 BC, 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. | - 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. |
| Vegetation and wildlife | - Arid desert | - Mediterranean agriculture
- Coniferous forests |
Video: Lecture QA - Dr James Hoffmeier - Egyptologist
This is from The Lanier Library Lecture Series titled The Exodus In Light Of Recent Archaeological And Geological Work In North Sinai by Dr James Hoffmeier g......