ACCESS. 34miles/54km south of Luxor on the Nile Valley road; 30miles/49km northwest of Edfu on an asphalted road. By rail (station on east bank of Nile).
History
In ancient times Esna, with the adjoining town of Enit or Yunit, was one of the most important places in Upper Egypt. Its Egyptian name was Tesnet, from which the Coptic Sne and
Arabic Esna are derived. The Greeks called the town Latopolis, after the Nile perch (Lates niloticus), a fish here revered as sacred and buried in extensive cemeteries. During the medieval period the town regained importance and a modest degree of prosperity as a caravan station and as a market for the agricultural produce of the area. Esna is one of the main centers of the Coptic faith in Egypt.
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