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The Egypt ian city of Esna (known in antiquity as '''Iunyt''', '''Ta-senet''', and '''Latopolis''') is located on the west bank of the River Nile , some 55 km south of Luxor . The name "Latopolis" is honour of the Nile Perch , '' Lates Niloticus '', which was abundant in these stretches of the river in ancient times. Two barrage bridges straddle the Nile at this point: one built by the British in 1906, and the "Electricity Bridge" built by the Italians in the 1990s. Navigation – particularly, Nile cruisers ferrying tourists from Luxor to Aswan , 155 km further upstream – can be held up for hours while vessels negotiate their way through the lock system. The two main points of interest in Esna are its lively tourist-oriented Souk , which fills a couple of streets leading inland from the Corniche . The other is a small Ptolomaic-era temple dedicated to the god Khnum . Construction work on this temple began under Ptolemy VII and continued under the Romans ( Claudius and Marcus Aurelius , in particular, left major marks on the structure). The temple, which has only been partially excavated, is set at a depth of some 10 metres lower than the surrounding city streets. EXTERNAL LINK |
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