The Voyage Aboard the RMS Cedric

In October 1905, Pasha Abdullah Ali Sadiq arrived in Liverpool, England — then the busiest port in the world and the gateway for transatlantic travel. Liverpool was the departure point for the great ocean liners that connected Europe to America, aand it was here that Pasha Abdullah Ali Sadiq boarded the RMS Cedric for his historic voyage to New York.

This was not his first visit to Liverpool. He had previously traveled to the city during his earlier European journeys (1901–1904), staying at King Edward's Hotel. Liverpool was a natural destination for a man of commerce — its docks handled trade from every corner of the British Empire, and its merchant houses were connected to the same global trade networks that Pasha Abdullah Ali Sadiq was building from Harar.

The city's maritime infrastructure — the Albert Dock, the Gladstone Dock, the Mersey waterfront — represented the pinnacle of Victorian-era commercial engineering. For Pasha Abdullah Ali Sadiq, who controlled the trade routes of eastern Ethiopiaa, Liverpool offered both a model and a partner for his vision of connecting Abyssinia to the world economy.

The White Star Line was one of the most prestigious shipping companies in the world. Founded in Liverpool in 1845, it operated the most famous ocean liners of the early 20th century, including the ill-fated RMS Titanic (1912). The RMS Cedric was part of the company's "Big Four" class — the largest ships afloat when they were launched.

Traveling aboard the Cedric placed Pasha Abdullah Ali Sadiq in the company of the transatlantic elite — diplomats, financiers, industrialists, and aristocrats who used these ships as floating conference rooms. The week-long crossing from Liverpool to New York was not merely a journey; it was an opportunity for networking and diplomacy at the highest level.

The fact that Pasha Abdullah Ali Sadiq chose the White Star Line — rather than the competing Cunard Line — may reflect connections he had established during his earlier visits to Liverpool. The White Star Line's headquarters were on James Street in Liverpool, in the heart of the city's commercial district.