Egypt
Esna
Esna: The Temple of Khnum and the Nile Lock
- Port traffic
- ModerateNext 30 days
Good to know
What to Expect
Nile cruise boats call at Esna, on the west bank about 55 km south of Luxor, and pass through a lock here that can hold them up for hours.
- The lock lies between two barrage bridges, one built by the British in 1906 and the "Electricity Bridge" of the 1990s. Waits there can shift the timing of your visit.
- The Temple of Khnum is about 200 m from the river.
- Ask your boat where it moors and how long you will have ashore.
Getting Around
Taxis and tuk-tuks work all over Esna, but the temple is close enough to the river to walk.
- The ticket office is about 200 m from the temple, and the way between them runs through a covered market where vendors call out to passers-by.
- The tourist market fills a couple of streets that run inland from the riverside corniche.
- The temple lies about 9 m below the level of the modern street, so reaching it means going down from the town. Ask your boat about the way down before you go ashore.
The Temple of Khnum
Only the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Khnum still stands, and its columns and ceilings keep much of their color.
- The hall's portico has 24 columns, in six rows of four.
- No two of the lotus-leaf capitals on the columns are the same.
- The temple has only been partly excavated.
History
The Greeks called Esna Latopolis, after the Nile perch, a fish that was plentiful in this stretch of the river in ancient times.
- The temple remains date from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.
- One of the temple's hieroglyphic inscriptions, a very late one, dates from the reign of the Roman emperor Decius, from 249 to 251 AD.
- In the mid-19th century the temple was used as a cotton warehouse.
Port crowds
Next 30 days
Oct 23Quiet91°F33°C / 71°F21°C
Oct 24Busy91°F33°C / 73°F23°C
Oct 25Very busy93°F34°C / 74°F23°C
Oct 26Normal95°F35°C / 76°F24°C
Oct 27Normal98°F37°C / 76°F24°C
Oct 28Very busy98°F36°C / 74°F23°C
Oct 29Normal98°F36°C / 74°F23°C
Oct 30Quiet98°F36°C / 74°F23°C
Oct 31Normal98°F36°C / 74°F23°C
Nov 1Very busy85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 2Normal85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 3Normal85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 4Busy85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 5Normal85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 6Quiet85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 7Busy85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 8Very busy85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 9Normal85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 10Normal85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 11Busy85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 12Normal85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 13Quiet85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 14Busy85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 15Very busy85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 16Normal85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
Nov 17Normal85°F30°C / 64°F18°C
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