And I am an American who was married to a Moroccan and whose children still live in Morocco and are quadrilingual. I too lived for a long time in the north of Morocco and still visit every couple of years, in fact was there in January and will be in the north on the 17th.
I now live in Turkey, on the Blue Coast, in large part because this village (Kalkan) when I first saw it reminded me so much of the small coastal town in the north where I spent 13 summers plus a few longer periods.
One of my daughers graduated from RAS, her son started today as CAS.
The longer I live in Turkey, the more similarity I see between the cultures -- though neither would like to admit this! And speaking some Moroccan dialect has helped me learn Turkish vocabulary as many of the Turkish words are the same or very similar to the Arabic equivalent.
But here's one that really confused me at first! 'Merhaba' here means only hello to someone you meet in the street or when you enter a shop. It never means 'welcome' in Turkey.
My 2nd husband is American, I suggested to him that we spend this winter in Marrakesh, he is afraid even though he has been to Morocco and loved it. I confess that I have seen some change towards conservatism over the years that I have been coming there.
Thanks
kyler