Esna (Isna) is located about 33 miles South of Luxor. The town's Greek name was Latopolis and here fish (lates) where thought to embody the goddess Neith, who was sacred to the area. Esna was increasingly important during the 18th dynasty due to Egypt's developing relationship with the Sudan. There was a route established between Esna and Derr. Later, the city slowly declined until it received renewed interest during the 26th Dynasty. Later, under the Greeks and Romans, it became the capital of the Third Nome of Upper Egypt.
We also know of an Esna about a hundred years ago from Flaubert, who later wrote Madame Bovary, was propositioned by a 'almeh' while aboard his boat. He went with her to the house of Kuchuk Hanem, where she danced (not so virtuously) the Bee. In other words, wild times could be found here. Mohammed Ali had band almeh (meaning learned women) from Cairo, so they had gathered to make their living in Qena, Esna and Aswan.
The main attraction is the Temple of Khnum, which lies beneath the level of the houses in a pit. Most of the ruins of around the Temple and the old city are yet to be explored as they lay under these modern dwellings. This was not the first temple here, for during the reign of Thutmose III, a temple was built here that preceded it. There are blocks from an early Christian church in the forecourt of the temple, foretelling of a time when Isna was an important Christian center. Near the Temple of Khnum on the stone quay along the corniche are carved cartouches of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.