Commentaries

Short reflections on culture — roughly fifty words at a time.

Commentaries is a reflection journal that gives a voice to culture. Reflections are primarily ours but the door is open. If there is a culture you care about and can speak to authentically, you are invited: email us at hello@vigatour.co.uk or message us on Instagram and TikTok (@vigatour). You have a voice and this is a place for it. We're interested in stories of heritage, diaspora and cultural exchange.

22 July 2026 — Storytelling through Music

Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture tells a story without a single lyric. Composed in 1880, it commemorates Napoleon's Grande Armée marching into Russia and its destruction at the hands of Tsar Alexander I's army. Cannon fire, French and Russian anthems and church bells all reflect the 19th-century zeitgeist of Europe where war, nationalism and religion competed in an age of cultural progress.  

21 July 2026 — What Makes a Semite?

There is a Semitic language family. Objectively however, there is no such thing as a Semitic race. It is a language family based on the Biblical lineage of Noah/Nuh's son Shem. This includes: Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic, Tigrinya, Aramaic and Maltese. This was a category invented by German linguist August Ludwig von Schlözer and was later mistaken for a race after this.  

20 July 2026 — All Roads Lead to Rome

Albania's double-headed eagle is one of the world's most beautiful standards. The motif reached Albania through Byzantium, with the twin heads marking sovereignty over the East and West. Skanderbeg (Gjergj Kastrioti) raised it against the Ottoman Empire, which claimed Rome's crown. History is full of leitmotifs, with post-antiquity nations consistently drawing their lineage back to Ancient Rome. 

17 July 2026 — On the Origin of Creativity and Culture

Creativity is integrationist — taking what one culture made and weaving it into another to form ideas and creations entirely new. Cultures work in the exact same way: by nature, living systems, shaped by the times we live in, the people we meet and the ideas we hold. Where today’s cultures go next depends entirely on what we build in the here and now.

16 July 2026 — The Lebanese Diaspora in Sierra Leone

The Lebanese community in Sierra Leone formed in the late 19th century, when migrants from southern Lebanon — then under Ottoman rule — arrived seeking trade. Over time they grew influential in commerce, weaving Lebanese food, traditions and family values into Sierra Leonean life. To this day, the two peoples share a unique heritage.

Words of Mahdi, from the Lebanese community in Sierra Leone

15 July 2026 — Culture and Colonialism

A prevailing myth states that European colonialism brought culture to Asia, Africa, North and South America. However, these continents had independent cultures of their own for many millennia. Culture is fluid and ever changing, but it's not from one continent. 

15 July 2026 — This is Algeria

Algerian culture was shaped over thousands of years and many civilisations: Phoenician, Roman, Arab, Ottoman and French. Its Amazigh and Arab communities have blended traditions, languages and customs over time. Family, hospitality and respect for elders sit at its heart. This is reflected in couscous, chorba and the music of Raï, Chaabi and Kabyle.

Words of Mehdy from Algeria

14 July 2026 — What are Commentaries?

This is the debut of our short-form journal on everything we hold as culture. With a focus on preservation and heritage, this is where we share our insights, thoughts and the stories which show that culture matters. From Vigatour, to you.