Kicking off Day 2 in Cyprus, we made our way to the Vassos Eliades Distribution Center, one of the oldest and largest import and trading companies in Cyprus. Immediately walking into the distribution center, I was extremely impressed. Although everything this company does and consists of is so large and diverse, it seemed like they had their system down to a tee. Everything and everyone had a purpose, which noticeably helps this company run smoothly and successfully everyday. Not only do they cover all sales channels of the market, but they also take pride in their core values of trust, quality, and longterm relationships while doing so. It is evident that this company puts their priorities first, and they do it very well. Just when I thought I was impressed, I learned that Vassos Eliades was ranked “Best Workplaces 2024” and “Cyprus Best Workplaces 2025”. This company truly does it all, they even have a solar panel system that allows them to have no electrical costs! Their hospitality was so welcoming and it was truly an amazing experience being able to gain firsthand supply-chain management knowledge from an even more amazing company.

Once we finished up at the Vassos Eliades Distribution Center, we got some delicious lunch and then headed back to the University of Nicosia to listen to a presentation by Dr. Solomou about the history of Cyprus. This country amazes me more and more everyday! Throughout Dr. Solomous presentation, he covered an immense amount of the Cypriot history; and he did it well. Thinking back to my lectures at Pitt, I don’t think I have ever gained so much knowledge in one sitting – it was so incredible! This lecture was definitely a bit less interactive than I’m used to, but it was so engaging that I honestly didn’t even notice! Dr. Solomou was a smooth speaker, and he provided us with so many interesting historical facts and knowledge about Cyprus. Something so simple yet so intriguing was that Cyprus is the third largest country in the Mediterranean, after Sicily and Sardinia. It is so crazy to me that I wasn’t even aware of Cyprus in general before this year! Another thing that I thought was so interesting was the amount of different rulers Cyprus had in the past. For example, from just 58 BC to 1960 AD, Cyprus went from Roman Rule, to Byzantine Rule, to Frankish Rule, to Venetian Rule, then Ottoman Rule, British Rule and finally gained independence in 1960. Learning about the history of Cyprus has made me love the country even more than I did before! The experiences I have had in the past 2 days have been so spectacular – I cannot wait for the rest of my trip!