Mirna Mirna

Since its launch in 2011, Game of Thrones has made history, from the biggest battle ever filmed for TV, to thousands of baby names inspired from popular characters like Daenerys, Theon and Arya. The eighth season was perhaps the most controversial from HBO ever as it holds the record of most pirated TV show in history. This should tell you enough about how popular the Westeros struggle for the Iron Throne was.

However, now that the epic series has come to a wrap, and its prequel series still in its early stage of production, fans of the fantasy genre will be looking for their next TV fix of drama, action, world-building and science fiction. Below are eight shows we highly recommend you check out after the GoT finale.

1- Vikings (Violence, Language, Nudity – Rated 16+)

Vikings follow the adventures and conquests of Ragnar Lothbrok, his wife Lagertha, his brother Rollo and ship builder best friend Floki. The Danish farmer quickly rises to Earl, and beyond, leading raids on previously far off lands in England and France. The History Channel’s brilliant series is inspired from historical events, and its immense job of character development and constant plot twists will leave audience members binging the beautifully shot and directed episodes late past their bedtimes.

2- Frontier (Violence, Language, Nudity – Rated 16+)

If the Khaleesi was your favorite GoT character, then you’ll love that her ex-husband Khal Drogo stars in Frontier, a 3-season Netflix original. The story unfolds in North America in the 18th Century, where Jason Mamoa’s character is a trapper who decides to stand up against the monopoly and corruption of a fur trading company called Hudson’s Bay Company.

3- The Handmaid’s Tale (Violence, Language, Nudity – Rated 18+)

Despite the lack of fantasy genre elements, this series by Hulu feels more and more relevant by the day. In a world rocked by natural disasters and embroiled in a struggle for civil rights and gender equality, this series follows one of the last fertile women in Gilead, a dystopic society in what was once the United States. The militaristic and “traditional values” zeal means women like Offred are forced into sexual servitude in a desperate attempt to repopulate the Earth. It’s 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes is testament to how well the show is liked, but also how much viewers draw parallels between current affairs in the US today, and the fictional plot in Handmaid’s Tale.

4- Marco Polo (Violence, Language, Nudity – Rated 16+)

It’s unfortunate that this Netflix historical fiction drama got canceled after only 2 seasons, but those two seasons are well worth the watch. It imagines events occurring after legendary Venetian trader and explorer Marco Polo is captured by Mongol leader Kublai Khan. That’s when the Khan realizes that Marco Polo can be a valuable tool in his worldwide conquest, and Marco Polo begins to understand the intricacies and differences being part of the Mongolian leader’s court. Even though critics roughed up Marco Polo with just a 34% on Rotten Tomatoes, the audience disagrees, with a 92% favorable score in contrast.

5- Gotham (Violent – Rated 16+)

With all the attention in the past few years being awarded to Marvel Comics (Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, etc.) and their cinematic universe, it’s easy to forget the treasure trove of amazing stories from the DC universe (Batman, Superman, Aquaman, etc.)

Currently in its fifth and final season, Gotham tells the previously untold origin stories of many of Gotham’s super heroes and super villains, from detective James Gordon, to the Dark Knight himself.

6- The Last Kingdom (Violence, Language, Nudity – Rated 16+)

If you enjoyed Viking raiding England in “Vikings”, then The Last Kingdom will be an extra sweet treat for you. Uhtred was born a Saxon, but raised by Vikings. As the northern marauders attack the Anglo-Saxons, his loyalties and struggle to come to terms with his identity make the perfect storyline with a backdrop of the struggle and violence between the Viking and Anglo-Saxons. With a 91% average on the Tomatometer, and a 93% audience rating, this is another viking show that deserves a binge watch.

7- Knightfall (Violence, Language, Nudity – Rated 16+)

Few institutions have captured people’s imagination like the Knights Templar. Once one of the most powerful organizations in the 13th and 14th Century, their growing power and influence brought their demise, with them being hunted down, tortured and burned at the stake. Knightfall will resonate with history buffs who like their TV show true to the historical facts, more than the soap-operatic melodramas scene in other historical fiction TV series.

Currently in its second season, this BBC production will be a treat to history buffs who love watching what it was like in the Templars’ courts and how they met a violent end. Oh, and Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker himself, stars in Knightfall!

A language with more than 400 million speakers, the official tongue of 22 countries, and one of the six official languages of the United Nations, Arabic has been a treasure for millions ever since the fourth century. With a rich history that has developed through an era dominated by poetic tradition and entrenched in art through beautiful calligraphy, Arabic has, and still influences many languages around the globe and is the fifth most spoken language in the world. Believing in preserving such a well-kept treasure, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II launched the “Daad” initiative to further preserve the place of the Arabic language in an era of increased globalization and digitization.

In reference to the distinctive sound made when pronouncing the letter “Daad”, the crown prince has launched such an initiative with a goal of stressing on the importance of conserving and developing the Arabic language and its content in today’s world. Through the Crown Prince Foundation, the initiative hopes to serve as a unique model for the youth who seek to highlight such an identity and are keen on making a positive impact along the way. In order to achieve such an aspiration, the model seeks to blend its youthful component with the language through the use of modern-day communication technology and the Internet.

In its essence, and according to a Royal Court statement, the initiative also aims to train Arabic youth ambassadors who would promote the language in disciplines ranging from scientific, technological and communications. Working on making such an initiative a successful one, the youth taking part in the latter will work on achieving its main goals that include:

– Developing techniques that digitally enable the Arabic language online.

– Establishing and strengthening the various platforms for communicating in Arabic

– Enhancing the skills of the Arabic ambassadors in order to unlock their full potential.

Parallel to its goals, the initiative is keen on implementing a plethora of activities to reach the latter in accordance with its set policies. In the month of June for example, the ambassadors will be sitting for a world-renowned Neuro-Linguistic programming workshop and will be launching an on-ground take-over of one of the capital’s streets, where they will ask the visitors to solely speak Arabic in the ultimate aim of promoting the initiative.

As Arabic plays an essential part in this region and as it is a language spoken by almost half a billion speakers around the world, such initiatives stand as a guardian for such a treasure and as a gateway to a world where the language is valued as much as it should be. Yet, an initiative alone does not have the power to unlock the potential of Arabic in its Jordanian home; the Jordanians in themselves have the most prominent role to play in realizing such potential and in spreading the mission of the initiative.

Many photographers thought Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) and other cameras with replaceable lenses would become more affordable, and ever more needed with time as tech progressed. In recent years though, the camera in your pocket has steadily overtaken the one in your backpack.

Photos and videos taken with cameras on today’s flagship smartphones are sometimes hard to distinguish from those taken on professional hardware. One might go as far to say that in some respects, your smartphone cameras surpass the trusted DSLR. Now, no one is saying that you should throw out your camera and upgrade your phone, but for most users’ needs, a smartphone camera has become more than enough, far more affordable, easier to use and has the benefit of always being on you in person when that special shot presents itself.

Below, we will list our top five picks for the best smartphone cameras available on the market in 2019. We’ve taken into consideration overall performance, special features, and overall design.

1- Google Pixel 3

The Google Pixel 3 is arguably the best camera phone you can buy right now. In a time when most phones have at least 2, but more often than not 3, 4 or even 5 camera lenses on the rear, the Pixel 3 sticks to just one.

One nice thing about the Pixel 3 series is that both iterations of the Google flagship have the same camera setup and features, so whether you opt for the Pixel 3 or the larger Pixel 3 XL, you still get all the glory of the Pixel’s camera.

The Pixel might have just one camera in the rear, but it has two where it counts: the front. This allows for an amazing wide-angle selfie feature, letting more of your friends or the beautiful scenery squeeze into your frame.

We’re in love with the 12.2MP rear camera for its consistency. No matter the conditions, the subject or the context you pull your phone out for, the photos are always quick, sharp and beautiful.

One thing that secures the Pixel 3 on top of this list, is it’s mind-blowing “Night Sight” mode. With the entirety of Google’s powerful AI at your fingertips, every Night Sight photo will blow you away. After a few seconds of processing, you’ll realize how amazing it is at low-light photography, with zero noise, beautiful color correction and sharpness.

Google stands out above the competition through its processing data and evolving perfect algorithms. This is clear in Google’s dedicated Pixel Visual Core chip and machine learning software, which helps the phone recognize what photos should look like and what you’re actually trying to capture.

2- Huawei P30 Pro

It took a few months for a solid Pixel 3 competitor to materialize, but it’s finally here. Huawei’s recent string of massively successful flagships have cemented the Chinese manufacturer’s products on the top spots of virtually every list. Apart from the Mate Pro series, the P series are known for boasting the absolute best camera hardware and software Huawei has to offer.

Huawei’s night modes were often seen as the leader in smartphone photography, but were soon eclipsed by the Google Pixel 3’s Night Sight. The P30 seems to be trying to unseat Google’s undefeated low-light performance, and it’s packing quite a punch. The P30 doesn’t just do low-light photos, it even takes shots in the dark. Despite instances of over-saturation or loss of focus, the P30 makes up for it in what’s arguably the best zoom on a phone, with 5X optical, 10x hybrid and a whopping 50X digital zoom.

3- Samsung S10+

After a few models that lacked the “wow” factor users had gotten used to from Samsung, a lot was riding on the S10 series, and Samsung has definitely delivered. From the S10’s punch-hole display with front-facing cameras embedded in the screen, ­to the absolutely stunning super Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diodes (AMOLED) display, the S10+ is a fantastic phone. Simply put, AMOLED is one of the greatest innovations in display technology that is used on smartphone screens – all to provide users with a quick responsive touch screen and an impressive, rich, and vibrant display phone.

The camera experience is just as great. It’s crisp, snappy and with lots of cool tools and modes to experiment with. The Samsung S10+ has a robust triple-lens rear camera array, including a 12MP lens, a 12MP optical zoom telephoto lens and a new 16MP ultra-wide lens.

Samsung’s dual-aperture lens on the regular camera captures vibrant photos and fairly good low-light pictures. The quality is top notch, but might need more than one shot to get it right. It lacks something like Google’s dedicated long-exposure Night Vision mode, but it’s definitely among the best camera phones for 2019 if most of your photos aren’t in very low-light locations.

Despite Google winning with low-light scenarios, what Google doesn’t have on its main camera is the ability to shoot wide angle photos. Samsung’s ultra-wide lens has a 123-degree field of view, and it’s great for cramming more into the frame, letting you be closer to that building you like, without needing to cross the street.

4- iPhone XS Max

It seems that Apple has taken some pointers from Google’s computational photography playbook, introducing features like “Smart HDR” to make the iPhone XS Max the best camera ever on an iPhone.

Lowlight photography is much better, comparable to the Galaxy S9+ but still lagging when compared to the Pixel or Huawei models.

One feature Apple’s iPhone XS Max excelled above and beyond the competition at is video capture. Stabilization is fantastic and feels cinematic, and the XS Max can shoot 4K in 24fps, 30fps or 60fps along with 1080p in either 30fps or 60fps.

Apple’s camera remains fairly simple to use, with a carousel you slide through for different modes. This is ideal for some users compared to the ever more complicated controls on most Android flagships. And if you’re not a serious photographer, but would love to capture amazing photos and videos, the iPhone may be your best choice this year.

5- Nokia 9 PureView

Nokia’s latest camera juggernaut is a gorgeous gorilla glass device with six rear-facing cameras. The limited-edition Nokia 9 PureView has a 5.99″ crisp screen and thankfully no notch for the front-facing cameras. The device comes with an in-screen fingerprint reader as well as face recognition unlock, but has ditched the auxiliary port and comes with one loudspeaker.

The main reason the Nokia 9 earns a spot on this list is their incredibly flower-arrangement of camera lenses, with no bumps at all, making it easy to use while on a table. The array includes 5 12MP camera lenses and a ToS camera that gathers information about depth. The Nokia 9 merges the 5 images into one with insane dynamic range, with the option to save your images in RAW format to be able to tweak them professionally. Apart from the ability to capture and process RAW photos, the N9 has plenty of manual controls for photography experts, with portrait mode being arguably the best at subject differentiation from all the camera-heavy devices available this year.

All in all, the N9 is a gorgeous device, and where it lacks in other specs, it makes up for it and more with the unique camera functionality on this latest smartphone from Nokia.

So, there you have it! Our smartphones are now unlocking ways for us to grab the best high-quality photos like we’ve never imagined before. The devices that fit comfortably fit into our pockets are becoming stronger, more powerful, and definitely more impressive.