Variable in a SQL Query

[eluser]invision[/eluser]
Hi,

I'm using the following code to select data from my database:

Code:

$this->db->query("SELECT entry.id, city.*, country.* FROM entry, city WHERE  city.country = {$country}");

This query outputs as:

SELECT entry.id, city.*, country.* FROM entry, city WHERE city.country = gbr

but I need it as:

SELECT entry.id, city.*, country.* FROM entry, city WHERE city.country = 'gbr'

How do I change the query to treat gbr[b] as [b]'gbr'(a string)?