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Egypt
ESNA TEMPLE
Esna is about 485 miles from Cairo and lies on the west
bank of the Nile. It was the ancient city of Senat,
called Latopolis by the Greeks, city of the fish where
the Nile perch fish was worshipped. Today it is very
famous for it barrage and as a result it is a stop over
for most of the cruises boats. The temple of Esna, which
was buried beneath he debris for many centuries, is
located in the centre of the town and nearby the bank on
the Nile, so it only a walking distance from your boat,
through the local market. The entrance ticket to the
temple is LE10. When you reach the temple you have to
descend a flight of steps – be careful: they are very
steep!
The temple is dedicated to the ram headed god Khnum, the
god of creation. The foundation of the temple was put
down by Thutmosis 3rd in the 18th dynasty but it was
completed by Ptolemaic and Roman Emperors from 40-250AD.
Their names are recorded all over the walls of the
temple. The remains of the temple contains 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 up
in Pharaoh costumes, sacrificing to the god of the
temple. On both sides of the temple entrance there is a
chamber which was used by the priests and keepers of the
temple as a store room. There you will notice the
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 dragon star.
On the western wall of the façade of the temple you can
see god Horus, god of victory, and god Khenum, dragging
a net full of fish from the Nile and birds.
Significantly at the foot of this representation is the
last known hieroglyphic inscriptions ever recorded,
completed by the Roman Emperor Dios in 250AD