diff --git a/quesma/queryparser/query_parser.go b/quesma/queryparser/query_parser.go
index 814eb414e..5cc2fd5cc 100644
--- a/quesma/queryparser/query_parser.go
+++ b/quesma/queryparser/query_parser.go
@@ -1200,38 +1200,56 @@ func (cw *ClickhouseQueryTranslator) extractInterval(queryMap QueryMap) string {
 
 // parseSortFields parses sort fields from the query
 // We're skipping ELK internal fields, like "_doc", "_id", etc. (we only accept field starting with "_" if it exists in our table)
-func (cw *ClickhouseQueryTranslator) parseSortFields(sortMaps []any) []string {
-	sortFields := make([]string, 0)
-	for _, sortMapAsAny := range sortMaps {
-		sortMap, ok := sortMapAsAny.(QueryMap)
-		if !ok {
-			logger.WarnWithCtx(cw.Ctx).Msgf("parseSortFields: unexpected type of value: %T, value: %v", sortMapAsAny, sortMapAsAny)
-			continue
-		}
-
-		// sortMap has only 1 key, so we can just iterate over it
-		for k, v := range sortMap {
-			if strings.HasPrefix(k, "_") && cw.Table.GetFieldInfo(cw.Ctx, k) == clickhouse.NotExists {
-				// we're skipping ELK internal fields, like "_doc", "_id", etc.
+func (cw *ClickhouseQueryTranslator) parseSortFields(sortMaps any) []string {
+	switch sortMaps := sortMaps.(type) {
+	case []any:
+		sortFields := make([]string, 0)
+		for _, sortMapAsAny := range sortMaps {
+			sortMap, ok := sortMapAsAny.(QueryMap)
+			if !ok {
+				logger.WarnWithCtx(cw.Ctx).Msgf("parseSortFields: unexpected type of value: %T, value: %v", sortMapAsAny, sortMapAsAny)
 				continue
 			}
-			fieldName := cw.Table.ResolveField(cw.Ctx, k)
-			if vAsMap, ok := v.(QueryMap); ok {
-				if order, ok := vAsMap["order"]; ok {
-					if orderAsString, ok := order.(string); ok {
-						sortFields = append(sortFields, strconv.Quote(fieldName)+" "+orderAsString)
+
+			// sortMap has only 1 key, so we can just iterate over it
+			for k, v := range sortMap {
+				if strings.HasPrefix(k, "_") && cw.Table.GetFieldInfo(cw.Ctx, k) == clickhouse.NotExists {
+					// we're skipping ELK internal fields, like "_doc", "_id", etc.
+					continue
+				}
+				fieldName := cw.Table.ResolveField(cw.Ctx, k)
+				if vAsMap, ok := v.(QueryMap); ok {
+					if order, ok := vAsMap["order"]; ok {
+						if orderAsString, ok := order.(string); ok {
+							sortFields = append(sortFields, strconv.Quote(fieldName)+" "+orderAsString)
+						} else {
+							logger.WarnWithCtx(cw.Ctx).Msgf("unexpected order type: %T, value: %v. Skipping", order, order)
+						}
 					} else {
-						logger.WarnWithCtx(cw.Ctx).Msgf("unexpected order type: %T, value: %v. Skipping", order, order)
+						sortFields = append(sortFields, strconv.Quote(fieldName))
 					}
 				} else {
-					sortFields = append(sortFields, strconv.Quote(fieldName))
+					logger.WarnWithCtx(cw.Ctx).Msgf("unexpected value's type: %T (key, value): (%s, %v). Skipping", v, k, v)
 				}
-			} else {
-				logger.WarnWithCtx(cw.Ctx).Msgf("unexpected value's type: %T (key, value): (%s, %v). Skipping", v, k, v)
 			}
 		}
+		return sortFields
+	case map[string]string:
+		sortFields := make([]string, 0)
+
+		for fieldName, fieldValue := range sortMaps {
+			if strings.HasPrefix(fieldName, "_") && cw.Table.GetFieldInfo(cw.Ctx, fieldName) == clickhouse.NotExists {
+				// TODO Elastic internal fields will need to be supported in the future
+				continue
+			}
+			sortFields = append(sortFields, fmt.Sprintf("%s %s", strconv.Quote(fieldName), fieldValue))
+		}
+
+		return sortFields
+	default:
+		logger.ErrorWithCtx(cw.Ctx).Msgf("unexpected type of sortMaps: %T, value: %v", sortMaps, sortMaps)
+		return []string{}
 	}
-	return sortFields
 }
 
 func (cw *ClickhouseQueryTranslator) parseSize(queryMap QueryMap) (size int, ok bool) {
diff --git a/quesma/queryparser/query_parser_test.go b/quesma/queryparser/query_parser_test.go
index 25a6e79c8..0665c1221 100644
--- a/quesma/queryparser/query_parser_test.go
+++ b/quesma/queryparser/query_parser_test.go
@@ -490,7 +490,7 @@ func TestQueryParseDateMathExpression(t *testing.T) {
 
 func Test_parseSortFields(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
-		sortMap    []any
+		sortMap    any
 		sortFields []string
 	}{
 		{
@@ -507,6 +507,13 @@ func Test_parseSortFields(t *testing.T) {
 			[]any{},
 			[]string{},
 		},
+		{
+			sortMap: map[string]string{
+				"timestamp": "desc",
+				"_doc":      "desc",
+			},
+			sortFields: []string{`"timestamp" desc`},
+		},
 	}
 	table, _ := clickhouse.NewTable(`CREATE TABLE `+tableName+`
 		( "@timestamp" DateTime64(3, 'UTC'), "service.name" String, "no_order_field" String, "_table_field_with_underscore" Int64 )