Swirling mist near towers (8)
I believe the answer is:
minarets
'towers' is the definition.
(minaret is a kind of tower)
'swirling mist near' is the wordplay.
'swirling' is an anagram indicator.
'mist'+'near'='mistnear'
'mistnear' with letters rearranged gives 'MINARETS'.
(Other definitions for minarets that I've seen before include "Slender towers on mosques" , "Mosque turrets" , "I smarten up the mosque towers" , "Towers attached to mosques" , "Slender towers with balconies" .)