 According to those who snuck in and were arrested, these sites were being kept secret by the Saudi regime, a theocracy that hid them from the world using fences and police and the threat of force. As I tried to understand why the Saudis were hiding this important site, I began reaching out to sources in the Islamic world. For 15 years, I've been in the fields of intelligence, counterterrorism, and international relations, and one of my best contacts had a story to tell.