Esna

The town of Esna enjoyed some notoriety in the 19th century, when quite a number of singers, dancers, prostitutes, and other similar folk were exiled from Cairo and resettled here. French novelist Gustave Flaubert visited Esna expressly to see the performances of the artists and professionals. He wound up becoming somewhat obsessed with a prostitute–dancer, and he spent a good deal of time describing her (and his opium-induced visions) in letters to his long-suffering wife.