Esna

Just 50 km south of Luxor on the West Bank of the Nile, Esna is a quick day trip away from its more popular neighbor. The city is historically significant and is home to monuments from pharaonic Egypt all the way to the Ottoman period.

The main attraction is Esna Temple, dedicated to the god Khnum, his consorts Menhit and Satet, and the goddess Neith. This site is remarkable because of the beauty of its scale and the grandeur of its architecture. The portico consists of six rows of four columns each, with lotus leaf motifs. One of the most unique features of this temple is the pronaos. It is the last large preserved temple from the Roman period in Egypt. On the ceiling of the pronaos is the larger Latopolitan Zodiac, the other being present at Dendera Temple. The temple also records many cartouches of Roman emperors. Two hymn inscriptions are written cryptographically, almost entirely using ram and crocodile figures.