It is a city of Egypt. It is located on the west bank of the Nile some 55 km south of Luxor. The town was formerly part of the modern Qena Governorate, but as of 9/12/2009, it was incorporated into the new Luxor Governorate.
Esna is about 485 miles (776 kilometers) south of Cairo and lies on the west bank of the Nile. It was the ancient city of Senat, called Latopolis by the Greeks. It was "the city of the fish" where the Nile perch fish was worshipped as divine. Today it is very famous for its river barrage and as a result, it is a stopover for many cruise boats. The Temple of Esna, which was buried beneath its own debris for many centuries, is located in the center of the town, close to the River Nile and only a short walk from your boat through the local market.
This city of Latopolis in the Thebaid of Upper Egypt should not be confused with the more northerly city of Letopolis, ancient Khem, modern Ausim, in the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt.
The name "Latopolis" is in honor of the Nile perch, Lates niloticus, the largest of the 52 species which inhabit the Nile, which was abundant in these stretches of the river in ancient times, and which appears in sculptures, among the symbols of the goddess Neith, associated by the ancient Greeks as Pallas-Athene, surrounded by the oval shield or ring indicative of royalty or divinity. Held sacred, the Lates niloticus was buried in a cemetery west of the town.
The Temple of Esna conveys a sense of the importance which the Ancient Egyptians placed upon their places of worship. All Egyptians who entered the confines of an Egyptian temple were required "to comply with the strict rules regarding ritual purity." According to inscriptions carved on the walls of the Temple of Esna, those who entered this temple were expected to fastidiously cut their fingernails and toenails, remove other body hair, wash their hands with natron (a natural occurring salt), "be dressed in linen (they were forbidden from wearing wool), and not to have had sexual intercourse for several days."
The temple is dedicated to the ram-headed god Khnum, the god of creation. Tuthmosis III laid the foundations of the Temple in the 18th Dynasty, but Ptolemaic and Roman Emperors completed it between “40 to 250” A.D, and their names are recorded all over the temple walls.
The temple of Esna, dedicated to the god Khnum, his consorts Menhit and Nebtu, their son, Heka, and the goddess Neith, was remarkable for the beauty of its site and the magnificence of its architecture. It was built of red sandstone, and its portico consisted of six rows of four columns each, with lotus-leaf capitals, all of which however differ from each other. The temple contains very late hieroglyphic inscription, dating from the reign of Decius (249–251 AD).
Another temple of the same period has been identified at Kom Mer, about 12 km to the south, but cannot be excavated because a modern village is built over it.
There was a smaller temple, dedicated to the triad of Latopolis, about two miles and a half north of the city, at a village now called el-Dayr. Here, too, is a small zodiac of the age of Ptolemy III Euergetes (246–221 BC). This latter building was destroyed in the 19th century, as it stood in the way of a new canal. The temple of Esna was cleared of the soil and rubbish which filled its area when Vivant Denon visited it, and served as a cotton warehouse in the mid-19th century.
With the exception of the jamb of a gateway now converted into a door-sill of the reign of Thutmose II (Eighteenth Dynasty), the remains of Latopolis belong to the Ptolemaic or Roman eras. Ptolemy III Euergetes, the restorer of so many temples in Upper Egypt, was a benefactor to Latopolis, and he is depicted upon the walls of its temple followed by a tame lion, and in the act of striking down the chiefs of his enemies. The name of Ptolemy V Epiphanes is found also inscribed upon a doorway. Although the scale of the ruins are impressive, their sculptures and hieroglyphics attest to the decline of Egyptian art. The west wall features reliefs of Ptolemy VI Philometor and Ptolemy VIII Physcon. The pronaos, which alone exists, resembles in style that of Apollonopolis Magna (Edfu), and was begun not earlier than the reign of Claudius (41–54 AD), and completed in that of Vespasian, whose name and titles are carved on the dedicatory inscription over the entrance. On the ceiling of the pronaos is the larger Latopolitan Zodiac. The name of the emperor Geta, the last ruler that can be read in hieroglyphics, although partially erased by his brother and murderer Caracalla (212), is still legible on the walls of Latopolis. Before raising their own edifice, the Romans seem to have destroyed even the basements of the earlier Egyptian temple. The ceremonial way, which probably linked the quay to the temple, has disappeared. The quay bears cartouches of Marcus Aurelius.
The cemetery west of the town, where the Lates niloticus was buried, also contains human burials dating of the Middle Kingdom to the Late Period.
The remains of the Temple of Esna contain a hall of columns with 24 pillars beautifully decorated with lotus and palm capitals. The walls are covered with 4 rows of reliefs, showing Ptolemaic and Roman Emperors dressed in Pharaoh Costumes, sacrificing to the God of the Temple. There are chambers on both sides of the temple entrance that were used by the priests and keepers of the temple as storerooms.
Flanking the entrance to each room, you will notice Emperor Trajan, carried in a litter by six Priests, with jackal and hawk masks of the gods.
The most interesting scenes in this temple are the ones you will find on the roof, which is decorated with astronomical representations. On the left side of the gateway of the Temple, you can see the sky Goddess Nut, the Dog Star, Orion's belt, and Alpha Draconis (or the Dragon Star).
On the western wall of the façade of the Temple, you can see the God Horus, God of victory, and the God Khnum, dragging a net full of fish from the Nile, as well as reliefs of birds. Significantly at the foot of this representation is the last known hieroglyphic inscriptions ever recorded, completed by the Roman Emperor Dios in 250 A.D.
Like any other function that needs a space or built environment, trade, caused the existence of several types of buildings and public open spaces to help facilitate its process in Esna. Historically, the public open space located between Khnum Temple and al-`Amriyya Minaret functioned as Esna's main square – where various historic photos of Esna depicts this area as the city's main marketplace. Wakalat al-Jiddawi (caravanserai), one of the city's main trading buildings existed on this square as well. And to the north and south of the square, al-Qisariyyas Street extended -parallel to the Nile River- for a distance of almost 1.5 km. The street is named after Esna's renowned al-Qisariyyas Market. Qisariyyas are an urban market typology that is believed to have existed since the Roman times; possibly since the age of the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar (63 B.C. – 14 A.D.) They consist of a long and narrow covered street, and sometimes a network of streets, that exist in the heart of a city. The street is surrounded by 2-3 story buildings on both sides; where shops and workshops are located on the ground floor – directly opening to the street. The upper floors include living quarters – sometimes for traders visiting the city. Wakalas (caravanserais), exist along- or close to this street. Such street markets are famous for traditional goods such as textiles, spices, traditional clothing, etc. Qisariyyas exist in many Upper Egyptian cities such as Asyut, Suhaj, Qena and Esna; and they are all functioning until today as popular local markets. Al-Qisariyya Market in Esna is one of the city's main attractions, not only for tourists but to a greater extent, for residents of Esna and its surrounding villages. Until today, it plays a regional trade function as the hub for many commercial activities. It includes different trades and goods such as textiles, clothing, houseware, haberdashery, tailoring, upholstery, etc. Hence, it is a major destination for families preparing for marriage and newly-married brides. Esna's Qisariyya Market consists of two main parts. The northern part starts from Wakalat al-Jiddawi, passing by the Church of Mother Dulaji, and heading northward. This part is buzzing with life and local atmosphere as local residents and villagers wander there for shopping activities. This part gets busier in its northern edge, covered with modern sharing elements, since is close to Esna's public transportation hub. Along this part of the street, many architecturally significant buildings -dating back to the turn of the twentieth century- exist. It also includes, tucked in a small alleyway, the significant façade of Bayt al-Shabrawi, built in 1874 with its intricate decorative fired brick and woodwork. On Saturday's, the northern part of al-Qisariyya is even more lively since it merges with Esna's weekly Saturday Market – famous for its local gastronomic and clay tableware products. On the other hand, the southern part starts directly from the south of Khnum Temple, heading southward. This part is quieter, but it is the most unique part of the market at all since it still maintains its traditional wooden cover and is surrounded by mud brick buildings that maintain their traditional features, such as their colorful wooden doors, until today. This covered part of the market extends for a distance of almost 130 m (425 feet) and is located on the route from the Khnum Temple area to many of Esna's attractions such as the traditional Bakkur Oil Press, the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and many of the city's architecturally significant buildings. More than 120 local shops exist in this part and they mostly encompass traditional tailors (tailoring traditional dresses such as Jalabiyyas) and sell textiles – including women traditional textiles and shawls indigenous to Esna such as al-Ḥabra, al-Farkha and al-Nishra. This southern part of al-Qisariyya Market still includes the remains of a traditional wakala- accessed through one of the textile shops. The market's traditional wooden cover in addition to its direction from north to south provides a flow of cool breeze that makes shopping and wandering there a pleasant experience, especially on a hot summer day.