Mood:  rushed
Topic: The Places
The crossed swords are a major landmark inside the Green Zone. The official name of the monument is the Hands of Victory, though hardly anyone living inside the Green Zone knows the real name.

Saddam built them to serve as an Arabic version of a Roman triumphal arch. They were built to celebrate the end of the Iran-Iraq war. Saddam took guns from dead Iraqi soldiers, melted them down, and recast them to make the 140 tall blades. Saddam also placed captured Iranian helmets in nets held between the swords. The fists that hold the swords aloft are replicas of Saddam Hussein's own hands!