TEHRAN -- The Shams Castle at the Qajar era Sadabad Palace has been put in danger by a movie project named “Hesitation”.

Many of the interior decorations of the structure have been destroyed or changed for the location of the film, which is to be directed by Varuj Karim-Masihi, the Persian service of CHN reported on Monday.
The walls have been painted according to the director’s taste and the floor and the stairs have been covered with brown parquets. In addition, the chandeliers are not in their original locations and the building has lost many of its ornamental accouterments.
Construction of the Shams Castle began in 1935 and continued through 1939 during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi. Situated northwest of the Sadabad Palace, it was first inhabited by Qajar monarchs and their royal families in the 19th century.
Covering 2600 square meters in an area, the two-story monument, which also contains an underground level, has been used as the Museum of Anthropological Research of the Sadabad complex over the past few decades.
However, the museum is currently closed to visitors and the museum’s officials tell them the building is under restoration by experts of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization.
This is not first time that a movie project has threatened an ancient Iranian historical site.
In December 2006, the floor and walls of the Hadish Palace of Xerxes were stained with a red liquid used to represent blood in the television blockbuster “Zero Degree Turn.”
Prior to the above incident, a member of the production crew had damaged two bas-reliefs depicting Achaemenid soldiers on the wall of the Artaxerxes Palace in Persepolis.
Cultural heritage experts have repeatedly asked officials to issue permits for the film producers who want choose the ancient historical sites as their locations, based on regulations safeguarding the places.
So far however, there has been no response to the appeals.