If I have left you with the impression that the UAE — Abu Dhabi, in particular — is all work and no play, millions of nose-to-the-grindstone people with old-fashioned values … well, that would be wrong.

This is a country that loves celebrity and pop culture as much as any and perhaps more than most. That we happen to be located on the Arabian Peninsula is irrelevant.

Dubai went nuts when Diego Maradona said he would be coming to coach a soccer team. And Dubai went mental again, as did Abu Dhabi to a lesser degree, with the visit of one of the most ridiculous of American pop figures, one famous for being famous.

And that would be?

Yes, Kim Kardashian, of the Kardashian Clan, stupendously shallow people who love attention and bling and reality TV.

Her public appearances here in recent days have been heavily attended, particularly the one in which she opened a milkshake store in Dubai. Kim, with her mom, blathered on about how much they like it here, which makes sense given that they were put up in one of the country’s most over-the-top hotels, Atlantis, The Palm — the place that modestly describes itself as a “seven-star” hotel … and is also known for an enormous aquarium and a water ride that takes you through the aquarium.

If you followed the link, you saw that Kim can’t wait to bring back her entire family (Even Khloe and Lamar Odom? Oh, joy!), and that she can think of nothing finer than opening her own hotel on an island here in the UAE.

She said she would be going to dinner with members of the ruling Maktoum family, which makes sense, too, because the Maktoums are known for racing thoroughbreds and for hanging with British royals, when the opportunity presents.

This story has a photo which shows the mob scene at Kardashian’s public appearance at Dubai Mall. We covered that, too … two stories in one day.  We love celebs, which we had gone on record with a few days before when we covered Kardashian’s arrival in the UAE.

And, at the end of Kardashian’s visit, we did a story noting her final public appearance and noting, sadly, that KimKar was about to leave.

Anyway, if we have given you the impression of stern men and laconic women in traditional dress … no, that’s wrong. Even the guys from nearby countries with limited income are as likely to be listening to pop music as they are to religious chanting. And, remember, shopping is one of the UAE’s national pastimes.

In August, an Indian kid from Dubai did a silly/clever song about going to malls, in Dubai … and he did three minutes without mentioning the same mall twice.

So, yeah … hanging with someone like Kim Kardashian rates high with a lot of people here.