Yes, that's Esna. A small but historically significant town on the cruise route from Luxor to the Aswan Dam. After crossing the barrage named after the town, we made a halt at the town itself. The walk from the pier to the Temple of Esna meandered through tourist targeted 'ethnic' markets. As usual, I have a visual from India to compare it to. Think of the markets in Hampi and you have the spitting image of the markets of Esna. Ofcourse for those of you who have not been to Hampi, tough luck ;)
The temple itself is still an archaeological excavation site. The parts that have been excavated, are like all things Egyptian, awe inspiring. The pillars that support and constitute the remains of the temple seem to soar into the sky, only to be capped by a massive roof. I don't clearly remember which, but either the roof or the pillars have inscriptions on them that tell the story of the temple. Even though I was pretending to pay attention, I am not very sure what exactly the story of the temple is. I THINK it talks about Queen Cleopatra arriving in ancient Egypt with her consort of that time. Well sorry, but I never volunteered a history lesson though I admit it would have made things more interesting :)
After Esna, the ship cruised along overnight till we landed at Aswan Dam. I will try to get there tomorrow :) No promises that I may break!
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