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Enkomi

The city of Enkomi in western Cyprus may have been the enigmatic kingdom of Alashia mentioned in the Amarna Letters. The people of Cyprus during the Amarna period were well-known for their crafts, such as jewelry, ivory carving, and bronze figures. About this time, Mycenaean pottery was imported from mainland Greece, and the pottery merchants may have been accompanied by some of the Mycenaean craftsmen themselves. The writing of Cyprus, a linear script known as Cypro-Minoan, was borrowed from the Cretan culture. Enkomi, the most important city of Cyprus, was a prosperous port. It was protected by massive stone walls, and the rich lived in houses of hewn stone.