Connect with your tour representative, who will pick you up from your hotel in Luxor and drive south alongside the Nile, past picturesque villages south to Esna, one of Egypt's trade centres throughout millennia.
Visit the Esna Temple, recently restored and cleaned. It is a well-preserved jewel and an example of Ptolemaic architecture. Only the pronaos (portico), dedicated to Khnum (God of the source of the Nile and creator of the human bodies) and his wife Menhit (Lioness Goddess of war and massacres), has been excavated; the rest of the temple rests underneath the city of Esna. 24 magnificent columns hold the temple ceiling with exceptionally well-carved palm and lotus floral capitals. The ceiling itself is adorned with the Ancient Egyptian interpretation of the constellations, moon phases and astronomical figures.
Cross the Nile to El Kab, a Prehistoric and Ancient Egyptian settlement on the East Bank, where you will visit some of the rock-cut tombs like Sobeknackht, a local Governor who withstood a Nubian invasion, Ahmose, an Admiral in one of the Hyksos wars, the Priest Setau and Paheri, a high official whose tomb is adorned with paintings of family life and religious themes.
Have lunch in an excellent local restaurant before accepting the drive back to Luxor.
