Kukės (Albanian: Kukės or Kukėsi) is a town in Albania located at 42.09°N, 20.43°E in the district and county with the same name. It has a population of about 16,000 (2003 est). The town is set among the mountains of northern Albania, near the border with Kosovo. It is famous for its role during the Kosovo conflict of the late 1990s, when it held a large population of refugees.
The town was relocated as part of a hydroelectric scheme. The old Kukės was submerged beneath an artificial lake in 1976, the lake being held back by crumbling Chinese-built dams. The new town (Kukėsi i Ri - "New Kukės") was built in the 1970s. The district is improverished, with poor road connections, and major problems with crime.
Kukės was briefly on the world stage during the Kosovo conflict when many hundreds of thousands of Kosovan refugees crossed the frontier and were housed in camps in and around Kukes. There is a mosque and a closed alpine-style hotel, part of a failed attempt to establish a tourist industry there. OSCE maintained a villa there. Being close to the border, the town seems to exist mainly on the smuggling of people, guns, drugs, stolen cars , petrol, etc.
A popular spot is a place just off the main square called the Bar America where the speciality is animal head . There is also a local historical museum and a carpet factory.
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Last updated: 05-24-2005 23:00:33
