Semu mediurienti? [Are we Middle Eastern?]

[alfieb]

The Region of Sicily does not belong only to Europe, but actually also to Africa, technically speaking, anyway.

As you all know, the island of Sicily is not the only Sicilian island - there are actually quite a few of them. The southernmost ones are geographically considered to be part of Northern Africa, while the rest are in Southern Europe.

We have cacti in Sicily, we eat couscous natively in Sicily, there is a strong Arab influence on our folk music, we have a history of ruling over parts of Africa, and also having been ruled and colonized by peoples from the Levant, Arabia and Northern Africa. Maltese people, who are only by technicality not considered to be Sicilian anymore, speak a language derived from Arabic, and we used to as well.

Cyprus is largely considered to be both European and Middle Eastern. Should we Sicilians and Maltese also?

[randomguy1235]

I always presumed Sicily was part of Europe geographically. According to genetic results, don't Sicilians cluster more with other South Euros than MENAs? I guess Sicilians have a mixed culture then.

[alfieb]

I always presumed Sicily was part of Europe geographically.
The Island of Sicily is. The Pelagie Islands, which belong to Sicily, aren't.


According to genetic results, don't Sicilians cluster more with other South Euros than MENAs? I guess Sicilians have a mixed culture then.
Yes, most Sicilians cluster with Greeks, Maltese, Ashkenazi Jews, and/or Southern Italians. However, there are exceptions.

Turks, Lebanese, Cypriots, and Mizrahi (non-European) Jews, among others, are also known to be genetically close to Sicilians.

[Sicilianu101]

Why do we have to pick between them? There should be a both option. We are Sicilian before anything else and I dislike putting myself in a strict category because they are not very accurate in the first place. I am a "Mediterranean Islander" not a continental European. & if you trace our ancestry than we are between Middle Eastern and European.

In my particular case, I think you could compare me to a 1/2 Tuscan, 1/2 Levantine, with a tiny bit of North African thrown in (Tuscan already has more Middle Eastern thrown in compared to a Lombard or Northern Euro).

[alfieb]

Cyprus is largely considered to be both European and Middle Eastern. Should we Sicilians and Maltese also?
That was my point, frati. We are obviously European. It's not an either-or, it's a question of whether we are both.

[Sikeliot]

I actually do not consider Sicilians to be "European" or "Middle Eastern" in the truest sense of either. I generally consider them to be "Mediterranean" and more akin to other countries around the Mediterranean, both European (Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Malta) and non-European (Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, Tunisia).

Likewise I don't think there is much linking Sicilians to non-Mediterranean Middle Eastern countries (Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran) or to non-Mediterranean European countries especially Northeastern Europe.. what do we have in common with Latvians, Lithuanians, Belarusians, Poles etc? Nothing.

Genetically, Sicilians are "European" because someone decided that Europe ends once you become more genetically Middle Eastern than Southeastern Europe. But the only Europeans that are genetically closer to Sicilians than the Lebanese and Turks are, are Greeks, other Italians, Maltese, and European Jews. Sicilians are closer to both Turks and Lebanese than to the vast majority of Europeans genetically. So if "genetically European" means similar to French, Brits, Germans overall, then no they are not.

[alfieb]

Catholicism, Indo-European language, but that's about it.

[Hayalet]

No, that doesn't make any sense.

[Virtuous]

I said over a million times, just because we speak a partly Arabic language doesn't mean we are Arabs. Culture, race, identity and finally what Maltese people identify themselves as is most important. Europe.

Same goes for Sicilians.

PS: There are Italian and Greek Islands more to the South than Malta.

[curupira]

Dodecad Oracle K12b results for Sicilians:




DodecadOracle(c(4.5, 0, 4.1, 0, 30, 11.9, 0.1, 0.7, 11.9, 0, 36.5, 0.2),k=82)
[,1] [,2]
[1,] "Sicilian_D" "0"
[2,] "S_Italian_Sicilian_D" "2.0372"
[3,] "Ashkenazi_D" "5.728"
[4,] "Ashkenazy_Jews" "6.1514"
[5,] "Sephardic_Jews" "8.5417"
[6,] "C_Italian_D" "9.14"
[7,] "Greek_D" "9.5525"
[8,] "Morocco_Jews" "11.3119"
[9,] "Tuscan" "13.586"
[10,] "O_Italian_D" "14.2681"
[11,] "TSI30" "15.023"
[12,] "Cypriots" "18.674"
[13,] "Turkish_D" "22.4515"
[14,] "N_Italian_D" "22.4562"
[15,] "North_Italian" "23.0712"
[16,] "Lebanese" "24.4963"
[17,] "Turks" "25.3839"
[18,] "Bulgarian_D" "25.5078"
[19,] "Bulgarians_Y" "25.5198"
[20,] "Romanians" "27.0797"
[21,] "Druze" "27.2584"
[22,] "Syrians" "27.3287"
[23,] "Jordanians" "28.2335"
[24,] "Palestinian" "29.5845"
[25,] "Uzbekistan_Jews" "30.6358"
[26,] "Armenian_D" "31.8251"
[27,] "Iraq_Jews" "32.1936"
[28,] "Georgia_Jews" "32.1969"
[29,] "Assyrian_D" "32.2557"
[30,] "Baleares_1KG" "32.3099"
[31,] "Azerbaijan_Jews" "32.472"
[32,] "Samaritians" "32.8393"
[33,] "Canarias_1KG" "32.9106"
[34,] "Armenians_15_Y" "33.0643"
[35,] "Egyptans" "33.7769"
[36,] "Armenians" "33.9813"
[37,] "Galicia_1KG" "34.0018"
[38,] "Murcia_1KG" "34.1322"
[39,] "Iranian_Jews" "34.1568"
[40,] "Extremadura_1KG" "34.1792"
[41,] "Andalucia_1KG" "34.499"
[42,] "Portuguese_D" "34.5936"
[43,] "Kurds_Y" "34.7438"
[44,] "Kumyks_Y" "35.0435"
[45,] "Nogais_Y" "35.0601"
[46,] "Kurd_D" "35.2036"
[47,] "Iranian_D" "35.6347"
[48,] "Castilla_Y_Leon_1KG" "36.4309"
[49,] "Iranians" "37.0236"
[50,] "Spaniards" "37.2466"
[51,] "Turkmens_Y" "37.8539"
[52,] "Spanish_D" "38.1709"
[53,] "Cataluna_1KG" "38.6322"
[54,] "Castilla_La_Mancha_1KG" "38.7692"
[55,] "Valencia_1KG" "39.4469"
[56,] "Adygei" "39.8786"
[57,] "Cantabria_1KG" "39.9153"
[58,] "Balkars_Y" "40.3194"
[59,] "Aragon_1KG" "40.3742"
[60,] "Bedouin" "40.64"
[61,] "Yemenese" "40.6711"
[62,] "North_Ossetians_Y" "41.1314"
[63,] "Chechens_Y" "41.3293"
[64,] "French" "41.4464"
[65,] "French_D" "41.7917"
[66,] "Lezgins" "42.3421"
[67,] "Hungarians" "43.0194"
[68,] "Algerian_D" "43.0421"
[69,] "Sardinian" "45.6668"
[70,] "Tajiks_Y" "46.5276"
[71,] "German_D" "46.5705"
[72,] "Mixed_Germanic_D" "46.9595"
[73,] "Uzbeks" "48.1134"
[74,] "Abhkasians_Y" "48.4185"
[75,] "Dutch_D" "48.9652"
[76,] "Kent_1KG" "49.3787"
[77,] "CEU30" "50.0421"
[78,] "English_D" "50.0437"
[79,] "Cornwall_1KG" "50.4189"
[80,] "Yemen_Jews" "51.0408"
[81,] "Georgians" "51.185"
[82,] "British_D" "51.2282"

[Sikeliot]

They are closer to almost all northern Middle Eastern groups (Assyrians, Armenians, Lebanese, Turks, Druze) than to most Europeans. So genetically Sicilians are more "Middle Eastern".

Culturally, Sicily is definitely mostly European.

It's not clear cut. Syrians are unquestionably Middle Eastern. Brits are European. But Sicilians are somewhere between.



Catholicism, Indo-European language, but that's about it.

Some Middle Easterners are Catholic too, like Maronites. So really Indo-European heritage and most of their culture is what leans toward "European".

[Sikeliot]

I made Middle Easterners red, Europeans green, Jews blue.

So we can see genetically where they stand.

DodecadOracle(c(4.5, 0, 4.1, 0, 30, 11.9, 0.1, 0.7, 11.9, 0, 36.5, 0.2),k=82)
[,1] [,2]
[1,] "Sicilian_D" "0"
[2,] "S_Italian_Sicilian_D" "2.0372"
[3,] "Ashkenazi_D" "5.728"
[4,] "Ashkenazy_Jews" "6.1514"
[5,] "Sephardic_Jews" "8.5417"
[6,] "C_Italian_D" "9.14"
[7,] "Greek_D" "9.5525"
[8,] "Morocco_Jews" "11.3119"
[9,] "Tuscan" "13.586"
[10,] "O_Italian_D" "14.2681"
[11,] "TSI30" "15.023"
[12,] "Cypriots" "18.674"
[13,] "Turkish_D" "22.4515"
[14,] "N_Italian_D" "22.4562"
[15,] "North_Italian" "23.0712"
[16,] "Lebanese" "24.4963"
[17,] "Turks" "25.3839"
[18,] "Bulgarian_D" "25.5078"
[19,] "Bulgarians_Y" "25.5198"
[20,] "Romanians" "27.0797"
[21,] "Druze" "27.2584"
[22,] "Syrians" "27.3287"
[23,] "Jordanians" "28.2335"
[24,] "Palestinian" "29.5845"
[25,] "Uzbekistan_Jews" "30.6358"
[26,] "Armenian_D" "31.8251"
[27,] "Iraq_Jews" "32.1936"
[28,] "Georgia_Jews" "32.1969"
[29,] "Assyrian_D" "32.2557"
[30,] "Baleares_1KG" "32.3099"
[31,] "Azerbaijan_Jews" "32.472"
[32,] "Samaritians" "32.8393"
[33,] "Canarias_1KG" "32.9106"
[34,] "Armenians_15_Y" "33.0643"
[35,] "Egyptans" "33.7769"
[36,] "Armenians" "33.9813"
[37,] "Galicia_1KG" "34.0018"
[38,] "Murcia_1KG" "34.1322"
[39,] "Iranian_Jews" "34.1568"
[40,] "Extremadura_1KG" "34.1792"
[41,] "Andalucia_1KG" "34.499"
[42,] "Portuguese_D" "34.5936"
[43,] "Kurds_Y" "34.7438"
[44,] "Kumyks_Y" "35.0435"
[45,] "Nogais_Y" "35.0601"
[46,] "Kurd_D" "35.2036"
[47,] "Iranian_D" "35.6347"
[48,] "Castilla_Y_Leon_1KG" "36.4309"
[49,] "Iranians" "37.0236"
[50,] "Spaniards" "37.2466"
[51,] "Turkmens_Y" "37.8539"
[52,] "Spanish_D" "38.1709"
[53,] "Cataluna_1KG" "38.6322"
[54,] "Castilla_La_Mancha_1KG" "38.7692"
[55,] "Valencia_1KG" "39.4469"
[56,] "Adygei" "39.8786"
[57,] "Cantabria_1KG" "39.9153"
[58,] "Balkars_Y" "40.3194"
[59,] "Aragon_1KG" "40.3742"
[60,] "Bedouin" "40.64"
[61,] "Yemenese" "40.6711"
[62,] "North_Ossetians_Y" "41.1314"
[63,] "Chechens_Y" "41.3293"
[64,] "French" "41.4464"
[65,] "French_D" "41.7917"
[66,] "Lezgins" "42.3421"
[67,] "Hungarians" "43.0194"
[68,] "Algerian_D" "43.0421"
[69,] "Sardinian" "45.6668"
[70,] "Tajiks_Y" "46.5276"
[71,] "German_D" "46.5705"
[72,] "Mixed_Germanic_D" "46.9595"
[73,] "Uzbeks" "48.1134"
[74,] "Abhkasians_Y" "48.4185"
[75,] "Dutch_D" "48.9652"
[76,] "Kent_1KG" "49.3787"
[77,] "CEU30" "50.0421"
[78,] "English_D" "50.0437"
[79,] "Cornwall_1KG" "50.4189"
[80,] "Yemen_Jews" "51.0408"
[81,] "Georgians" "51.185"
[82,] "British_D" "51.2282"

[Sikeliot]

So from the above (which you see something similar on PCA plots if you actually compare the distances and placements:

- Sicilians are closer to Lebanese and Turks than to all Europeans except Greeks and other Italians.
- They are closer to all Levantines plus Assyrians than they are to any European except Greeks, Italians, Bulgarians, Romanians.
- They are closer to Egyptians than to MOST Iberian populations.
- They are closer to Bedouins and Yemenis than to all Europeans except all of those above, plus Iberians.

So if you consider that they are closer to Yemenis even than to all Europeans except Greeks, Italians, Bulgarians, Romanians, and Iberians -- and that is only a small amount of Europe, I would argue that they are more genetically "Middle Eastern" by far.

[Sicilianu101]

So from the above (which you see something similar on PCA plots if you actually compare the distances and placements:

- Sicilians are closer to Lebanese and Turks than to all Europeans except Greeks and other Italians.
- They are closer to all Levantines plus Assyrians than they are to any European except Greeks, Italians, Bulgarians, Romanians.
- They are closer to Egyptians than to MOST Iberian populations.
- They are closer to Bedouins and Yemenis than to all Europeans except all of those above, plus Iberians.

So if you consider that they are closer to Yemenis even than to all Europeans except Greeks, Italians, Bulgarians, Romanians, and Iberians -- and that is only a small amount of Europe, I would argue that they are more genetically "Middle Eastern" by far.

Great points

[alfieb]

The Sicels and Sicans came from Europe. The Greeks came from Europe. The Romans, Vandals, Goths, Normans, Byzantines, etc. etc. were all European. We speak a European language, and our religion is based in Rome.

So, while I acknowledge our Middle Eastern heritage from West Asia, Southwest Asia, and North Africa, I would say that we are as a collective both European and Middle Eastern, but more European than Middle Eastern. Biologically, there is no one-size-fits-all profile that defines all Sicilians. It is the culture that has always been more important, and our culture has always been a predominantly Southern European one.

[Sikeliot]

The Sicels and Sicans came from Europe. The Greeks came from Europe. The Romans, Vandals, Goths, Normans, Byzantines, etc. etc. were all European. We speak a European language, and our religion is based in Rome.

Greeks are not genetically all that "European" either though. Well, at least the ancients weren't. Modern Greeks have a lot of Balkan and Slavic influence so they've become more European genetically over time. And obviously Greeks have contributed the largest share to the Sicilian gene pool.

It's actually unsure if the Sicanians came from Europe. They might have been proto-Berber, related to the Guanches and the original population of Iberia and North Africa (IberoMaurusian).


So, while I acknowledge our Middle Eastern heritage from West Asia, Southwest Asia, and North Africa, I would say that we are as a collective both European and Middle Eastern, but more European than Middle Eastern. Biologically, there is no one-size-fits-all profile that defines all Sicilians. It is the culture that has always been more important, and our culture has always been a predominantly Southern European one.

I still stick with "culturally European, genetically Middle Eastern" if I had to pick a way of concisely describing Sicilians. Obviously both the culture and genetics are a mixture of the two, but culture leans toward Europe and genetics toward the Middle East.

I answered the poll more based on genetics.. since I always say Cypriots are "Hellenized Levantines" and count them as Middle Eastern because of their genes, I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't hold a similar standard here.

[alfieb]

There's a big difference, though. Sicily is geographically part of Europe while Cyprus is geographically part of Asia.

[Sikeliot]

This is a good example of where you can really see that "Europe", "Asia, "Africa" etc. are socially constructed terms that describe very diverse continents.

[alfieb]

Quite so, and while I agree with you that "Europe" itself is a manmade identity, and would even go further and say that unlike our own, most countries borders are artificial, most people don't see it that way.

That's why Turkey won't be admitted into the EU, because Anatolia is considered a different continent from Thrace, and the same continent as Jakarta, even though Turks are far more similar to Greeks than they are to Saudis or Japanese. Sure, Islam is partly to blame, but it's inevitable that Albania, Kosovo and/or Bosnia will be allowed into the club, while I doubt the Turks ever will.

[Sikeliot]

That is true.

I think another way you could look at Sicily is "periphery Europeans". Malta and the Balkans as well. But I prefer the designation "Mediterranean" and leaving it at that. A Sicilian living in a small village whose family has been there for thousands of years will not feel much kinship either to Saudis nor to Poles, Germans, Russians, Lithuanians.

[alfieb]

A lot of people fit into that mold. Russians, most notably, but also arguably Finns, Estonians, Armenians, Georgians, among others. The further you are from the heartland of Europe, the more peripheral you are. I'd imagine that Slavs would want the heartland to be seen as Poland or something, but I think it's more realistic to say that the center of the European world is in Germany or Benelux.

[Sikeliot]

A lot of people fit into that mold. Russians, most notably, but also arguably Finns, Estonians, Armenians, Georgians, among others. The further you are from the heartland of Europe, the more peripheral you are.

I'd want to know how Sicilians who have lived their whole lives in Sicily feel -- do they feel a collective sense of "European-ness" and akin to the groups we think of as definitively European (Germans, Brits, Swedes, Danes, French, Poles)? Or would they feel closer to say, an Israeli or a Maronite from Lebanon? Or would they just feel close to any Mediterranean and not think much of anyone else?

[alfieb]

I can't tell you, as I've never had that conversation.

I'd imagine that the Sarkozy view - that there should be a Mediterranean version of the EU (which was, unfortunately, ruined by EU member states that don't border the Mediterranean insisting that the entire EU get involved) has some adherents in Sicily and the rest of the region.

[curupira]

Dodecad Oracle K12b results for Sicilians DodecadOracle(c(4.5, 0, 4.1, 0, 30, 11.9, 0.1, 0.7, 11.9, 0, 36.5, 0.2),k=82)
[,1] [,2]
[1,] "Sicilian_D" "0"
[2,] "S_Italian_Sicilian_D" "2.0372"
[3,] "Ashkenazi_D" "5.728"
[4,] "Ashkenazy_Jews" "6.1514"
[5,] "Sephardic_Jews" "8.5417"
[6,] "C_Italian_D" "9.14"
[7,] "Greek_D" "9.5525"
[8,] "Morocco_Jews" "11.3119"
[9,] "Tuscan" "13.586"
[10,] "O_Italian_D" "14.2681"
[11,] "TSI30" "15.023"
[12,] "Cypriots" "18.674"
[13,] "Turkish_D" "22.4515"
[14,] "N_Italian_D" "22.4562"
[15,] "North_Italian" "23.0712"
[16,] "Lebanese" "24.4963"
[17,] "Turks" "25.3839"
[18,] "Bulgarian_D" "25.5078"
[19,] "Bulgarians_Y" "25.5198"
[20,] "Romanians" "27.0797"
[21,] "Druze" "27.2584"
[22,] "Syrians" "27.3287"
[23,] "Jordanians" "28.2335"
[24,] "Palestinian" "29.5845"
[25,] "Uzbekistan_Jews" "30.6358"
[26,] "Armenian_D" "31.8251"
[27,] "Iraq_Jews" "32.1936"
[28,] "Georgia_Jews" "32.1969"
[29,] "Assyrian_D" "32.2557"
[30,] "Baleares_1KG" "32.3099"
[31,] "Azerbaijan_Jews" "32.472"
[32,] "Samaritians" "32.8393"
[33,] "Canarias_1KG" "32.9106"
[34,] "Armenians_15_Y" "33.0643"
[35,] "Egyptans" "33.7769"
[36,] "Armenians" "33.9813"
[37,] "Galicia_1KG" "34.0018"
[38,] "Murcia_1KG" "34.1322"
[39,] "Iranian_Jews" "34.1568"
[40,] "Extremadura_1KG" "34.1792"
[41,] "Andalucia_1KG" "34.499"
[42,] "Portuguese_D" "34.5936"
[43,] "Kurds_Y" "34.7438"
[44,] "Kumyks_Y" "35.0435"
[45,] "Nogais_Y" "35.0601"
[46,] "Kurd_D" "35.2036"
[47,] "Iranian_D" "35.6347"
[48,] "Castilla_Y_Leon_1KG" "36.4309"
[49,] "Iranians" "37.0236"
[50,] "Spaniards" "37.2466"
[51,] "Turkmens_Y" "37.8539"
[52,] "Spanish_D" "38.1709"
[53,] "Cataluna_1KG" "38.6322"
[54,] "Castilla_La_Mancha_1KG" "38.7692"
[55,] "Valencia_1KG" "39.4469"
[56,] "Adygei" "39.8786"
[57,] "Cantabria_1KG" "39.9153"
[58,] "Balkars_Y" "40.3194"
[59,] "Aragon_1KG" "40.3742"
[60,] "Bedouin" "40.64"
[61,] "Yemenese" "40.6711"
[62,] "North_Ossetians_Y" "41.1314"
[63,] "Chechens_Y" "41.3293"
[64,] "French" "41.4464"
[65,] "French_D" "41.7917"
[66,] "Lezgins" "42.3421"
[67,] "Hungarians" "43.0194"
[68,] "Algerian_D" "43.0421"
[69,] "Sardinian" "45.6668"
[70,] "Tajiks_Y" "46.5276"
[71,] "German_D" "46.5705"
[72,] "Mixed_Germanic_D" "46.9595"
[73,] "Uzbeks" "48.1134"
[74,] "Abhkasians_Y" "48.4185"
[75,] "Dutch_D" "48.9652"
[76,] "Kent_1KG" "49.3787"
[77,] "CEU30" "50.0421"
[78,] "English_D" "50.0437"
[79,] "Cornwall_1KG" "50.4189"
[80,] "Yemen_Jews" "51.0408"
[81,] "Georgians" "51.185"
[82,] "British_D" "51.2282"



The Dodecad Oracle K12b results of Sardinians, Sardinians look a lot more isolated, and much less similar to Near Eastern groups:

DodecadOracle(c(0, 0, 2.6, 0, 70.5, 0, 0.1, 0, 5.8, 0, 20.9, 0),k=82)
[,1] [,2]

[1,] "Sardinian" "0"
[2,] "Andalucia_1KG" "27.8808"
[3,] "French_Basque" "29.5369"
[4,] "Aragon_1KG" "29.6189"
[5,] "Valencia_1KG" "29.9977"
[6,] "Castilla_La_Mancha_1KG" "30.0554"
[7,] "Murcia_1KG" "30.2762"
[8,] "Cantabria_1KG" "31.3616"
[9,] "Spaniards" "31.3772"
[10,] "Baleares_1KG" "32.0903"
[11,] "Castilla_Y_Leon_1KG" "32.151"
[12,] "Spanish_D" "32.1528"
[13,] "Pais_Vasco_1KG" "32.5507"
[14,] "Canarias_1KG" "33.0556"
[15,] "Extremadura_1KG" "33.9464"
[16,] "Cataluna_1KG" "34.1928"
[17,] "Galicia_1KG" "34.1991"
[18,] "North_Italian" "34.8442"
[19,] "Portuguese_D" "34.8643"
[20,] "N_Italian_D" "38.1997"
[21,] "TSI30" "38.3863"
[22,] "Tuscan" "39.2018"
[23,] "C_Italian_D" "41.5196"
[24,] "O_Italian_D" "44.1291"
[25,] "Sicilian_D" "45.6668"
[26,] "S_Italian_Sicilian_D" "45.8996"
[27,] "French" "47.4213"
[28,] "Morocco_Jews" "47.5453"
[29,] "French_D" "48.1393"
[30,] "Sephardic_Jews" "49.2268"
[31,] "Greek_D" "50.1997"
[32,] "Ashkenazi_D" "50.364"
[33,] "Ashkenazy_Jews" "51.231"
[34,] "Cornwall_1KG" "55.4284"
[35,] "British_D" "56.3811"
[36,] "Kent_1KG" "56.5052"
[37,] "English_D" "57.356"
[38,] "CEU30" "57.5103"
[39,] "Mixed_Germanic_D" "57.7731"
[40,] "British_Isles_D" "57.9036"
[41,] "Bulgarians_Y" "58.25"
[42,] "Irish_D" "58.4582"
[43,] "Dutch_D" "58.7907"
[44,] "Romanians" "58.9658"
[45,] "Orcadian" "59.0778"
[46,] "Bulgarian_D" "59.1776"
[47,] "Cypriots" "59.1804"
[48,] "Argyll_1KG" "59.4114"
[49,] "Orkney_1KG" "59.9426"
[50,] "Algerian_D" "61.0472"
[51,] "German_D" "62.6863"
[52,] "Moroccan_D" "65.1323"
[53,] "Turkish_D" "65.205"
[54,] "Hungarians" "65.4899"
[55,] "Lebanese" "65.7043"
[56,] "Syrians" "66.5019"
[57,] "Jordanians" "66.8934"
[58,] "Palestinian" "67.395"
[59,] "Druze" "67.5498"
[60,] "Turks" "67.9666"
[61,] "Egyptans" "68.4834"
[62,] "Norwegian_D" "68.7287"
[63,] "Moroccans" "69.3242"
[64,] "Samaritians" "71.2424"
[65,] "Swedish_D" "71.5508"
[66,] "Uzbekistan_Jews" "71.7075"
[67,] "Iraq_Jews" "71.8236"
[68,] "Assyrian_D" "72.1288"
[69,] "Armenian_D" "72.1616"
[70,] "Azerbaijan_Jews" "72.4082"
[71,] "Turkmens_Y" "73.6353"
[72,] "Armenians_15_Y" "73.6393"
[73,] "Georgia_Jews" "73.6641"
[74,] "Bedouin" "73.814"
[75,] "Kurd_D" "74.056"
[76,] "Iranians" "74.0793"
[77,] "Armenians" "74.1024"
[78,] "Kurds_Y" "74.1332"
[79,] "Iranian_Jews" "74.1455"
[80,] "Iranian_D" "74.3062"
[81,] "Nogais_Y" "74.4791"
[82,] "Yemenese" "75.2693"

And yet Sardinia and Sicily are not that far, and have had a similar culture (Catholic and Romance speaking), quite surprising, isn't it?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Sardinia_in_Italy.svg

[alfieb]

Our nearest outside match is a distance of 5 (Ashkenazim) while theirs is 27 (S. Spaniards), so yeah, there is quite a gap between us (and everyone else) with Sardinians.