In the evening, when it got dark, they took a side road that led to a small village and stopped again to stretch their feet, eat some dry bread and cheese and drink water. Morris had chatted a little with Suleiman who appeared to be quite a nice guy whose country had sent him on a mission to kidnap Israeli citizens. Suleiman did not know why the Islamic Republic of Iran wanted Israelis, and like Morris, he assumed that they were to be held as hostages for bargaining of one sort or another. He said that they were quite close to Gaziantep, but Morris said that the only two places in Turkey that he recognized were Antalia and Istanbul. Suleiman said that would take a short nap and then continue towards Iran as travelling at night was faster on the narrow roads.
They continued driving through most of the night, stopped for breakfast that pretty much depleted their meager food reserves and continued on their way east. They reached the outskirts of Saliurfa, a town that had a large Kurdish population that they wanted to avoid so they headed north-east towards Diyarbakir making sure to evade the large military base and airfield. By now Suleiman felt that Morris and Vicki wouldn't cause any trouble and allowed them to sit on the back seat rather than lie on the floor of the van. Morris asked where they were heading, saying that he knew that Iran was their final destination. Suleiman looked at him and nodded and then said that they wanted to avoid getting close to the Syrian and Iraqi borders and were therefore going on a slightly longer route that would take them a safe distance away from the conflict areas. He added that he was a bit concerned that Russian aircraft would mistakenly cross into Turkish airspace, as had already happened, and fighting could break out unexpectedly. He then mumbled something about the Kurds whose loyalty could change overnight from side to side and therefore they should get away from population centers.
Vicki said that she needed her medication that kept her blood-pressure under control because she was feeling a little lethargic and Suleiman said that he would try to get something suitable at a pharmacy in the next town. Morris said that there was no need to handcuff and gag them and promised not to do anything that may risk their captors. Suleiman looked at the two of them and said something in Farsi to his two colleagues. The driver took the van through the main street of the small town and when they spotted a pharmacy stopped for a moment to let Suleiman out and then continued to the outskirts of the town. A few minutes later the driver's cell phone rang and he immediately turned the van back and picked up Suleiman near the place that he had dropped him off. Suleiman was holding a couple of plastic bags with groceries, bread and bottled water. As he entered the van he took a small box of tablets out of his pocket and handed it to Vicki who acknowledged it with a smile of gratitude.
From Diyarbakir they continued north-east to Tatvan and stopped for the night on the shore of lake Van. The next morning they continued along the shore of the lake and turned to the south-east before the town of Van and travelled on secondary roads to Baskale and Yuksekova and to the border crossing at Esendere. Suleiman told Vicki and Morris to lie down on the floor of the van and once again threw the rug over them. The van passed over a couple of bumps and came to a stop. Morris heard a rapid exchange in Turkish and the unmistaken sound of money changing hands. Had Morris been able to look out of the window he would have seen the sign that said "Turkiye cumhuriyeti, Esendese Sinir Kapisi, Gule Gule — Goodbye". The van continued for a very short distance, stopped again and now Morris heard an exchange of some words in Farsi. The sign in English announced "Welcome to the Islamic Republic of Iran" and probably said the same in Farsi and Turkish.
Suleiman and his people relaxed noticeably and they all started singing and clapping. He said that they had just entered Iran near the town of Urmia and from there they would pass through Tabriz. He estimated that it would take about 7 hours on the highway through Zanjan and Karaj to Tehran. Morris asked him what would happen once they reached Tehran and Suleiman said that they would be held in captivity but no harm would come to them.
Morris finished his story and Zorik understood that they were all hostages and would be released only if Iran's demands were met by Israel. Zorik asked "Morris, do you think that someone knows that you were kidnapped?"
Morris looked at Vicki and said "We thought a lot about this. Obviously the hotel in Kemer would notice that we did not check out and one look at our room would alert them that something happened to us as our luggage and even our passports are there. They may have notified the Israeli embassy or consulate, or at the very least the travel agent that booked our package deal."
Zorik asked if they had any family is Israel. Vicki burst out in tears "Yes, we have a son and a daughter. Both are very close to us and they would alert the police and probably the Israeli Foreign Office if we didn't return on schedule. We are sure that the circumstances of our disappearance would be investigated. We hope they will speak to Azzuri the pilot of the hot air balloon but I doubt that he will tell the truth about our abduction".
Zorik nodded and said "Our government is very sensitive to sudden disappearance of citizens and I am sure that they will investigate the matter until they find out what happened. I am not sure that they will get to the bottom of this and figure out that you are held here in Tehran but the case will not close until they find out."
Shulamit Levy said "Now I remember that before we went on our trip to Georgia there was something on the news that an Israeli couple had gone missing in Turkey and the anti-terror branch of the government issued a warning about going to Turkey. That is why we decided to go on an organized tour to Georgia. A lot of good this did us…"