The selective viewer will actually find some fine motives in Esna, even if the town in total is run-down with little but new and boring buildings. The finest buildings are not far from the Temple of Khnum, and easily reached within minutes. Look out for the nice minaret (second picture), in a fatimid style, resembling the tombs in an Aswan cemetery. There is even a short stretch of tourist street here. Guess where it is? It occupies all of the road between the harbour (where the cruise liners land) and the temple. Vendors are quite persistent, but I found them to be friendly minded.
