Crossword Genius

Parts of this tower are in mint condition (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

minaret

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'parts of this tower' is the definition.
'minaret' can be an answer for 'tower' (minaret is a kind of tower). I am unsure of the 'parts of this' bit.

'in mint condition' is the wordplay.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'condition' becomes 'are' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'mint' going around 'are' is 'MINARET'.

'are' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for minaret that I've seen before include "Mosque spire" , "Slim tower of a mosque" , "Mosque's tower" , "Raiment worn on mosque tower" , "tower in Istanbul, say" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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