The natural question arises as to who (or what) these texts were intended for. The authors of such inscriptions seem to have not always thought about this. What is more, they obviously had to write the inscriptions proper on the ceiling and upper parts of the columns from the ladder. However, the position of some of the inscriptions left on the capitals (immediately under the ceiling and, what is more, turned over), indicates that they had been made before the capitals were set up in their usual places. Consequently, some of the inscriptions had been made on the wooden structures before their installation.
Considering that the texts on the monument are quite numerous and they were drawn at various times and in various places of the mosque and its terrace, we have chosen to systematize them not chronologically but based on the place of their location beginning from the mihrab niche and towards the eastern wall. The inscriptions on the columns and the ayvans beams are cited thereafter.
You can read more about the archaeological monuments of the Surkhandarya region in the book-album “Surkhandarya” series “Architectural epigraphy of Uzbekistan”.
At what height are the texts located in the Sufi Allayar Mosque?
A considerable part of the texts were written at quite a height (over three meters) and sometimes in tiny letters that makes them hard to read.